Noticias

• A Ferris Fire Update
• West End Roundup with the San Miguel Basin Forum
• Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

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A Ferris Fire Update

The Ferris Fire in Dolores and Montezuma counties is creeping its way north, currently burning more than 60,000 acres with 19% containment at broadcast deadline.

“The vegetation out there that fire is burning in, it’s burning in grass, it’s burning in sagebrush, it’s burning in Gambel oak, and into the timber,” said Jen Anderson, a fire behavior analyst with the California Incident Management Team, the federal team leading the fire response.

The team held a community meeting in Dove Creek on Wednesday evening.

Anderson said the fire is currently most actively burning in the southwest corner and at the north end of the fire. On the northwest side, she said the fire has come around Dolores Canyon.

“It’s flanking, which is fire that’s moving along the side of the canyon wall, and it’s not moving too quickly. Then we have some other fire that’s backing down Glade Canyon,” Anderson said.

Tom Himmelrich, operations section chief on the fire, said crews are building line and looking to secure places on the perimeter.

“We had a lot of air tankers today dropping some retardant up here. We have a couple of hotshot crews going direct, meaning they’re right on the fireline, actively cutting line, removing burnable fuel. Then we’re continuing to mop up, and we have a lot of engines and hand crews that are still mopping up what got burned last night,” Himmelrich said.

The California Incident Management Team took over from the local management team on Tuesday, July 7, as the fire continued to burn.

“What happens with fire sometimes is they just get too big for the local management team to handle. It just outstretches their logistics and their operational capabilities. At that point, you have to bring in a team like ours. We’re a national team,” said Stephen Fillmore, deputy incident commander on the fire.

While not in the region under the best of circumstances, Fillmore said the team is happy to be in the community.

“But the reality is that the team that’s here to manage this fire, we’re lifelong public servants. This is the work we do. We’re happy to do it. We’re here to fight this fire, put it out as soon as we can, mitigate the damages that might occur as a result of the fire and get you guys back to normal lives as soon as possible. That is our goal, that’s what we’re trying to do, and everything we’re doing is aiming toward that end state,” Fillmore said.

At the meeting, Dolores County Sheriff Don Wilson expressed his appreciation for all the firefighters working the incident.

“Our firefighters kicked the crap out of the fire last night that pushed it back to where it made a lot of places a lot safer. So, kudos to the firefighters and our road and bridge guys,” Wilson said.

Homes to the east and west of the fire are currently under evacuation, with pre-evacuation notices extending to the San Miguel County line.

The Ferris Fire ignited Saturday, June 28, after a lightning strike in the San Juan National Forest.

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West End Roundup with the San Miguel Basin Forum

Today on the West End Roundup with the San Miguel Basin Forum KOTO’s news team chats with editor Regan Tuttle. In today’s headlines: It’s Time for the San Miguel Basin Fair, Nucla Welcomes New Library Director, and the Branding Iron has its Grand Opening.

A highlight of the summer kicks off on Thursday. It’s time for the San Miguel Basin Fair. Tuttle shares more.

Tuttle: It’s such a big deal for the West End for so many reasons, and it’s all starting this week.

The horse show is July 9 at the county fairgrounds.

The shooting sports competition has been resurrected. We know we have so many hunters and shooters in the West End. The kids are really thriving in that.

The dessert contest has been happening for decades. But Katie Alexander is wanting everybody to show up on Saturday. As many people as are interested in baking or have an idea are encouraged to participate. Desserts can be dropped off Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Norwood School all-purpose room.

There are judges who will be blindly judging these desserts. What’s super fun is that the community is invited to come taste the fruits of all of this labor. Of course, somebody will be winning the coveted aprons and the wooden spoons for grand and reserve champions.

The rest of the week is really going to celebrate all of the 4-H kids’ work with their livestock animals.

The brochures and schedules are online. These kids are going to show up with their beef projects. They’ll be showing steer, swine, lambs, goats and rabbits. There are poultry shows, and they’ve worked so hard.

The beef kids — the kids showing steer — have had these projects since fall. The rest of these kids have been working with their animals the entire spring.

They will have showmanship classes, demonstrating the ways they’ve worked with these animals. They’ll have market classes where their projects are judged on conformation and weight.

It means so much to the kids.

Then comes the junior livestock sale, where these animals actually go to auction. This really helps the kids learn about raising livestock and what it takes to produce food.

Buyers will be there on site. Many local businesses and individuals have already been contacted and invited to purchase local, high-quality, homegrown meat.

Fair Board President Makayla Gordon is really encouraging people to come out and show enthusiasm for these kids, what they’re doing and what they’re learning.

There’s more. There’s a barbecue dinner paired with the livestock sale. There’s a family dance at the end of fair week the following weekend.

There are also open fair contests. At the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Annex next weekend, at the same time as the Junior Livestock Sale on July 18, many people in the community will have submitted their artwork, photos, canned goods and other entries.

This open fair portion is a really fun way for the community to come together and say, “Look what I’ve created. Look what I’ve done.”

There will be tons of awards and ribbons given out for that, too.

So again, it’s a huge week, kicking off this Thursday in Norwood. Then, the following weekend, the rodeo will be happening, too, which we’ll write about.

A highlight of the summer kicks off on Thursday. It’s time for the San Miguel Basin Fair. Tuttle shares more.

Tuttle: The town of Nucla’s town manager and clerk, Jessica Davis, was super excited to announce to the Town Board in June that they had hired someone for the position of director.

Sherri Ross had been director for some time, and after that they had an interim director, Lori McKinney. But they’ve hired Sue Zueger.

Town staff are super excited about this because Zueger is a retired teacher, and she brings a lot of wisdom in working with the public and working with children.

For 25 years, she was a middle school teacher, and she has a lot of ideas and a lot of passion that she wants to bring into the library space. She’s got tons of ideas.

She had also been working at a library in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. So, she knows about makerspaces, research, after-school activities and literacy programs.

Town staff in Nucla are super excited to have her in this position.

Zueger also has a master’s degree. She’s very well educated, and she wants to connect with the community. She’s really encouraging people to come in to meet her and become reacquainted with the library space.

Nucla’s Main Street continues to blossom, now with the grand opening of the Branding Iron. Tuttle explains.

Tuttle: The owner, Jill Storey, is so excited for people to stop by. She is having an open house July 10.

The space was formerly the Fifth Avenue Grill, an establishment that many in the West End frequented. People knew this space for a couple of decades. Jill Storey bought the Fifth Avenue Grill after working there for about 11 years.

Since March, she’s been renovating it, and she wants people to come in on the 10th to take a peek.

This was Nucla’s restaurant for so many years.

From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., she’s going to walk people through. She’ll show them the floors they’ve redone, the kitchen renovations and where the buffet is now located.

She’s also inviting people because it’s such a ranching community. This is beef country, and so many legacy ranchers live here and come into this restaurant. She’s inviting them to bring their brands and literally brand a certain wall inside the building.

The planks are really old, historic wood. They were milled in Ute and came from a cabin in Pinon, the historic settlement where pioneers first arrived before bringing water up to the park.

She wants to celebrate heritage and tradition, and she’s inviting these families to bring in their brands and brand the wall. Already on the outside of The Branding Iron, there is a mural featuring a number of local brands. She’s keeping tradition and cowboy culture alive.

The San Miguel Basin Forum is a locally owned and operated newspaper out of Nucla, Colorado. Visit sanmiguelbasinforum.com for weekly news, events, and local happenings in the West End.

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Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

It’s time for another installment of Cat Movie Fisher – a segment where Risho Unda chats with members of the community about their favorite movies, and any other topics of fancy. This week he’s chatting with KOTO DJ, general man about town, Jasper Dupont.

Story begins at 12:15.

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Night Disc Golf Lights Up Norwood

It’s not just the night sky that will be shining bright in Norwood. This Friday, Dark Sky Disc Golf is coming to Wright’s Mesa.

The event will take place at the new disc golf course on County Road 42Z, just past the Uncompahgre Medical Center. Baskets will be illuminated, and LED lights will be provided for discs.

A collaboration between Norwood Park and Recreation, Wright’s Mesa Disc Golf and the Norwood Dark Sky Association, the event welcomes both experienced disc golfers and newcomers. Refreshments, music and telescopes for stargazing will also be available.

Dark Sky Disc Golf will take place Friday, July 10, in Norwood. Participants should meet at 8:25 p.m. for a sunset gathering. Play and stargazing begin at 9 p.m.

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Victor Marx Wins GOP Nomination for CO Governor

Ministry leader and Marine veteran Victor Marx has won the Republican nomination for Colorado governor after a close race.

The Associated Press called the race for Marx on Thursday after he narrowly defeated state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer.

Marx will face Attorney General Phil Weiser in the November general election.

Republicans have not won a statewide race in Colorado since 2016, and the party’s last gubernatorial candidate lost by nearly 20 percentage points in 2022.

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Colorado River Reopens After Snyder Fire Closure

Parts of the Colorado River in western Colorado that had been closed to recreation because of the Snyder Fire reopened this week.

For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, KDNK’s Marilyn Gleason has more.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has lifted the closure on the Colorado River, from James M. Robb Colorado River State Park in Fruita to the Utah state line. That stretch of the river is now open for public access and downstream recreation.

Although the Snyder Fire is 98% contained, warm and dry weather conditions are expected to keep fire danger at an extreme level.

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Volunteers Remove Fencing to Help Wildlife Migration

Wyoming is home to the country’s first designated wildlife migration corridor, and Teton County is a summer stopover for many nomadic ungulates, including pronghorn, elk and mule deer.

Along the way, however, the animals must navigate miles of sharp, often lethal, barbed-wire fencing.

For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, KHOL’s Jenna McMurtry reports from a ranch where volunteers are removing remnants of decades-old cattle fencing to improve wildlife migration.

Story begins at 21:30.