Noticias

• Team Fighting Stoner Mesa Fire Grows to Over 600
• Council Discusses 2026 Goals and Objectives

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Team Fighting Stoner Mesa Fire Grows to Over 600

The Stoner Mesa Fire west of Rico and north of Dolores continues to challenge firefighters in a remote section of national forest. Over the weekend, the fire grew to just over 8,500 acres and remains at 0% containment. The fire started from lightning on July 28.

Last week, the Rocky Mountain Complex Management Team 1 assumed command of the fire, bringing more personnel, resources and operational capacity. Incident Commander Paul Delmerico said fire lines on the north and south sides of the fire are showing progress since the weekend.

“Yeah, so the last report, or the current report, is that we’re still 0% contained. That’s due to really tough terrain out there, obviously some steep canyons and whatnot, and also some heavy deadened down fuels in the area. So that’s really impacting us,” Delmerico said. “As far as getting some containment on the fire, the good news is, is that on the north and the south ends of the fire, we have increased. So a lot of our dozer and hand lines, and we’re currently mopping up in those areas. And so we hope to show some containment in the next 24 to 48 hours on the north end and the south end.”

Higher humidity levels and lower temperatures over the weekend gave firefighters a break in fire activity to strengthen dozer and hand lines. Still, challenges remain.

“Our biggest concerns are on the west and east ends, due to the Stoner Canyon, for instance, really steep, rugged terrain,” Delmerico said. “We have fire all the way to the bottom of that, on and on and on all sides of it. Therefore, we’re still looking at some options in there. We are currently constructing indirect fire lines to be able to box that fire into those canyons to where it’s more feasible for us to be able to work.”

Hotter, drier conditions and steady winds are expected over the next week. Officials say that will cause fire activity to start earlier in the day and last longer. Despite the challenges, Delmerico said he remains confident in the current plan.

There are currently more than 600 personnel assigned to the fire. As for the “ready” evacuation status for Rico and surrounding areas, Delmerico said no changes are expected in the immediate future.

“Yeah, over the next few days and into the weekend, we do not foresee any changes to the ready status. We still we don’t think it’s going to either increase or decrease,” Delmerico said. “Talking to the county managers and whatnot. We’ve been in close coordination with those folks, the sheriff’s office, et cetera. We’re feeling pretty good with the fire up on top of the hill not impacting our values, such as those communities of Rico and the surrounding communities in those corridors. So we’re feeling like that’s not going to change anytime in the next five to seven days.”

Further information on the Stoner Mesa Fire is available at inciweb.wildfire.gov or on the Stoner Mesa Fire Information Facebook page.

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Council Discusses 2026 Goals and Objectives

Telluride Town Council is beginning the 2026 budget process with a look at goals and objectives for the coming year. Town Manager Zoe Dohnal presented to council at their Aug. 12 meeting, starting with the town’s core values.

Dohnal said, “We look at to start our town council’s adopted eight core values as guiding principles that help establish the high level focus areas. This is community engagement, dynamic economic environment, financial soundness and operational excellence, infrastructure quality, workforce, regional cooperation, safety and security and the superior quality of life.”

Those values then determine focus areas to create yearly goals for the town.

Dohnal said, “So as we dive into our the goals and objectives it is we have our broad strategic focus areas, which is really frames the town’s vision and helps guide these high level planning. The themes are addressing critical infrastructure needs, preserve the community, protect health and quality of life, cultivate economic sustainability and a thriving commercial core, and ensure the town of Telluride is an employer of choice.”

For the coming year, Dohnal said there are fewer goals, a result of completing deferred maintenance from COVID over the past few years.

“Those action items we have identified and presented to you in this draft are there are 69 across 19 goals within those five focus areas. Forty-one of those are continuing or evolving from previous years. Twenty-two are new initiatives, and six look to be carryovers from 2025 and just for scale, for 2025 we had 94 items, and in 2024 we had 91 items,” Dohnal said.

Council discussed the goals and focus areas, many of which were identified in different master plans and action plans developed in town departments. For example, one item is exploring the feasibility of scheduling a Galloping Goose shuttle.

“One of them is imploring the feasibility and value of a scheduling application within our Galloping Goose that could be called the Goose Chase. Wild Goose. Yeah, Wild Goose, excuse me. Wild Goose Chase. Okay,” Dohnal said.

Councilmembers also discussed upcoming changes in Town Park, which include paving part of the grass oval by the new warming hut. Councilwoman Meehan Fee emphasized the importance of maintaining free and accessible community spaces.

“I think it just, I think we, we have a community that’s really multifaceted and but we don’t have a lot of places where they can gather, and maybe there are places that are in existence right now that are going to come online, and like, the town will be able to use those for larger gatherings of the community organically. I’m just worried that we are losing, you know, like the one thing I feel like we all consistently hear is that, like we’re losing the sense of community, we’re losing the old Telluride, we’re losing, we’re losing, we’re losing,” Fee said.

Council also discussed diversity, equity and inclusion and how those values integrate into town goals. Most agreed that focusing on bilingual communication and collaboration with events is the most important step.

“I do still think that we need to guarantee, continue guaranteeing, I mean now more than ever, guaranteeing the bilingual execution of town communications. Like I think all of that still needs to be called out. I do understand the sensitivity of the current time that we’re in as far as being explicit that that’s one of our goals. But I just wanted it to be in our goals and objectives,” Fee said.

Finally, council discussed how to continue cultivating economic sustainability. Fee mentioned the possibility of a Chamber of Commerce, which could help organize and market the regional economy.

“I’m not saying we have to do it, but the likelihood is that if we want something like that, which does generate the tax dollars that let us do everything else like, I think we’re going to have to fund it. So I think we just need to, like, go down the path of like, is this something? Let’s evaluate if it’s something that we want to do or if we want to kick it down the road another five years,” Fee said.

This is only the beginning of the 2026 budget discussion process. Council will continue at their next meeting in September.

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Road Work to Cause Delays on CO 145

Beginning Monday, Aug. 18, crews will perform two weeks of paving operations on CO 145 from the Society Drive Roundabout, continuing south of Mountain Village Boulevard (Mile Points 69 to 72). Motorists can expect up to 30-minute delays and alternating traffic between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday, from Aug. 18 to 28.

Society Turn Roundabout (Aug. 18 to 21) — Paving will take place in the Society Turn Roundabout and move south toward Society Drive. Motorists traveling between Rico, Telluride and Placerville are urged to allow at least 30 minutes of additional travel time, as traffic from all directions will be brought to full stops and alternated through the roundabout.

Lawson Hill (Aug. 25 to 28) — Expect full stops and alternating traffic guided by flagging personnel between Society Drive and just south of Mountain Village Boulevard (Mile Points 71 to 69).

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Colorado River Facing Another Year of Shortages

New data from federal water managers projects another year of shortages on the Colorado River. KUNC’s Alex Hager reports the dry conditions mean less water gets delivered to some users in Arizona and Nevada.

Story begins at 8:32

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Colorado Lawmakers Head to Capitol for Special Session

For the third year in a row, Colorado lawmakers are headed back to the state Capitol for a special legislative session. For the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, Bente Birkeland has more.

Story begins at 9:33

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