Noticias

• A Gold Mountain Fire Update
• Coming Up Next, Telluride

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A Gold Mountain Fire Update

The Gold Mountain Fire outside of Ouray has burned more than 7,000 acres and was 0% contained as of broadcast deadline.

“Today looks like another bad weather day, and tomorrow looks worse. There’s really no relief on the horizon, so we should expect the fire to grow for another several days,” Ouray County Commissioner Jake Niece said during a fire briefing Monday.

“We’re probably going to have a tough week here.”

The Gold Mountain Fire ignited Saturday, June 27. Ouray County declared a local disaster emergency Sunday.

The same day, Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency in response to the fire. The declaration activated the State Emergency Operations Plan and provides state support for firefighting efforts.

A federal critical incident management team is scheduled to take over control of the incident at 6 p.m. Monday.

According to a news release from the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, firefighters are using multiple suppression tactics on the fire, including ground and aerial resources, while adjusting operations based on steep terrain, variable wind conditions and public safety needs.

The GMUG said firefighters have focused on structure protection to safeguard homes and other critical values at risk.

Ouray County has mandatory evacuation orders in place for Panoramic Heights, Lake Lenore, Redstone Road, Peck’s Trailer Park, homes between Peck’s Trailer Park and Cedar Hill Cemetery east of U.S. Highway 550, and the Cow Creek area.

Pre-evacuation notices are in effect from Black Lake to the intersection of County Roads 23 and 17 west of U.S. Highway 550, including Idlewild and the KOA Campground, as well as from Whispering Pines to Black Lake along County Road 17.

County officials are urging residents throughout the area, including Ridgway and Log Hill, to prepare for the possibility of evacuation if conditions worsen or additional fires ignite.

Ouray County Commissioner Michelle Nauer, who lives in one of the pre-evacuation zones, said she has already left her home.

“I thought I was prepared, but the moment I got that, all of a sudden my brain kind of went dead. I was walking around going, ‘What do I do next?’ I just want to put that plug in for everybody to have that go bag ready to go,” Nauer said.

Officials recommend go-bags include medications, important documents, snacks and water, extra clothing, cash, phones and chargers, extra batteries, a flashlight, a first aid kit and pet supplies.

The county is also asking residents to conserve water.

“Putting out sprinklers can harm the system so that firefighters, if they do need it at the hydrants, won’t be able to access it,” Niece said. “We don’t want to run our storage tanks dry. The tanks do get refilled, but if there’s too much going out, they can’t be filled up fast enough. So please, essential water use only.”

Ouray County Public Information Officer Jennifer Peterson also reminded residents to follow the county’s Stage 2 fire restrictions. Those restrictions prohibit open fires, including campfires, charcoal grills and wood-burning stoves. Smoking is only allowed inside an enclosed vehicle or building, and explosives and fireworks are prohibited.

“We are still seeing people with campfires, and we had to put out three campfires last night at some campgrounds,” Peterson said. “We don’t need any more fire. We don’t need anything, so if you see anything, please report it.”

Ouray County will hold daily public briefings. Information is available at ouraycountyco.gov. The county has also established an information hotline at 970-626-5484.

There is mask distribution at Ouray County Public Health and at the Ouray and Ridgway EMS Barns.

A large animal shelter is open at Montrose County Fairgrounds.

KOTO will continue providing updates throughout the day on fire activity on-air and at koto.org.

Meanwhile, several other wildfires are burning across the region, including the Snyder Fire. As of broadcast deadline, the fire had burned more than 28,000 acres along the Colorado-Utah state line and remained 0% contained.

As Caroline Llanes reports for Rocky Mountain Community Radio, the fire is burning primarily on Bureau of Land Management land.

Gov. Jared Polis has verbally declared a disaster emergency and authorized the Colorado National Guard to assist with the response.

The fire began as two smaller fires, both started by dry lightning strikes, that merged Saturday.

Extreme fire weather caused the fire to grow rapidly, expanding from just over 1,000 acres Saturday to more than 28,000 acres Sunday.

The U.S. Wildland Fire Service reports three firefighters died while responding to the blaze, and two others were hospitalized with injuries.

The National Weather Service has upgraded its Red Flag Warning to a “Particularly Dangerous Situation,” signaling extreme fire conditions driven by low humidity, high winds and dry fuels.

The Bureau of Land Management has closed the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area to recreation for firefighter safety, and the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office evacuated campers along the banks of the Colorado River on Saturday night.

Smoke from the Snyder Fire, several large fires burning in central and southern Utah, and the Ferris Fire in southwest Colorado has resulted in poor air quality across the region.

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Coming Up Next, Telluride

Telluride Town Council is meeting Tuesday with the Community Survey and a resident committee on the docket. In this installment of Coming Up Next, Telluride, Communications Manager Lindsey Mills shares what to expect.

Julia Caulfield (JC): Telluride Town Council is meeting on Tuesday with a few things of note, including a work session in the morning. Can you share what that’s going to be?

Lindsey Mills (LM): At 10:15 a.m., we’re continuing the conversation around TEMP fees, discussing the offset calculations and fees related with energy use.

Then the biggest piece I think the community is going to be really interested in is an overview of the community survey results. This is an annual presentation. This is our third annual community survey.

This is really the first step to identifying how council will define their goals and objectives for 2027.

This is step one: We hear from the community. Everybody that took the survey then gets to see how their voices impact what the decisions are going to be made for 2027.

JC: After work sessions, Town Council will take lunch. Then, as you often mention, at 1 p.m. when they get back, there will be time for public comment on non-agendized items, followed by a number of more administrative pieces. Then there’s going to be a Telluride Housing Authority meeting. What’s happening there?

LM: Right around 3 p.m., after a handful of public hearings and action items, we’re going to have a conversation around the appointment of our resident advisory committee.

These folks that applied over the last couple weeks all live in town of Telluride rental housing, and council has been interested in making sure that they all have a voice in how things are decided, how things are going in their rental housing, and giving them a new opportunity to really make their voices heard through a full committee.

There will be appointments to the resident advisory committee at that time.

JC: Is there anything else listeners should know about when it comes to local government?

LM: I think it’s a really important time to remind everybody that we’re in stage two fire restrictions, especially coming up on the July 4th holiday this weekend. Any possession of fireworks is absolutely strictly prohibited.

There’s a large fire burning outside Ouray and Ridgway right now, and it just goes to show that our preparedness needs to be top of mind at the moment.

So remember that packing a go bag is just a really good preventative measure, but there are emergency measures in place to ensure that we keep Telluride safe during a really, really dry, hot summer.

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Primary Day Comes to Telluride

Tuesday is Colorado’s primary election, with several key races on the ballot, including contests for governor and Congress.

Colorado Capitol News Alliance’s Bente Birkeland reports at the top of the ticket, Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser are locked in a competitive race for the Democratic nomination for governor.

On the Republican side, state Sen. Scott Bottoms, state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and political newcomer Victor Marx are competing for their party’s nomination.

In Colorado’s congressional races, longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette is seeking to fend off two primary challengers in Denver.

In the state’s most competitive congressional district, the 8th Congressional District, two Democrats are competing for the chance to challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans in November.

Ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. Tuesday to an official ballot drop box or a vote center.

Because of the local disaster emergency declaration, Ouray County voters are also able to complete and submit their ballots online. A link is available at ouraycountyco.gov.

24-hour ballot drop boxes are available at the Ouray County 4-H Event Center and the Ouray County Courthouse.

In San Miguel County, voters can return ballots at the 24-hour drop boxes outside the San Miguel County Courthouse in Telluride and the Glockson Building in Norwood.

In-person voting is available Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the San Miguel County Annex in Telluride and Norwood Town Hall.