The Middle Colorado Watershed Council (MCWC) will host the second event of its 2026 Fire & Water Speaker Series next week. The Rifle-based nonprofit organizes events each spring to engage community on topics around water, wildlife and humans within the Colorado River Basin. The first event, hosted last month, introduced hydrologist and writer Robert R. […]
fire
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Watch Duty on duty since 2021
During the early chaos of the Lee Fire this month, when social media was also burning up, locals wanted information. Where’s the smoke coming from? How far away is the fire? Do I have to evacuate? Where do I take my livestock? As I was scrambling to get a handle on what was happening, a […]
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Scuttlebutt & Calendar
Fire dangerA number of small fires have occurred in the Valley recently. A passenger van explosion up Snowmass Creek Road on June 30 spread flames to dry vegetation before 30 firefighters contained it. The day prior, a multi-agency effort responded to a structure fire in Glenwood Springs. Thursday, June 26, saw a human-caused fire in […]
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Thompson Creek Road: Whose land is it, anyway?
Locals and out-of-towners alike enjoy the pristine beauty of South, Middle and North Thompson Creek, but the jurisdictional and property lines can cause some confusion. Earlier this summer, a lot of Facebook attention was focused on the area due to assumed partiers along the road heading to North Thompson. About a quarter of a mile […]
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Scuttlebutt & Calendar – July 6, 2023
Spring Creek Fire As of Tuesday, July 4, when a red flag warning was in effect, the Spring Creek Fire was 37% contained and just shy of 3,000 acres had burned. There were 538 responders and the cause was still under investigation. There had been no evacuations announced at the time. Visit www.bit.ly/SpringCreekfire for more […]
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Why prescribed fires in Avalanche Creek?
Memorial Day weekend, campers and hikers might have been surprised at the sight of 600-plus acres of newly burned, south-facing terrain above Avalanche Creek. As part of the Aspen-Sopris District wildlife habitat improvement project, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management partnered with Pitkin County and Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District on […]
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Redstone braces for flooding and fires
Redstone’s community gathered on a rainy night at the fire station north of the Boulevard to discuss flooding preparedness, and a bit about wildfire season too. Pitkin County Emergency Manager Valerie Macdonald presented along with members of the Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District (CRFPD). Accelerated snow melt this spring is possible due to rain […]
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Aspen businesses patent biodegradable fire foam
Last month, Aspen-based business Multi-Inc., in partnership with development company AspenGlo, unveiled a new, federally patented biodegradable fire-resistant foam design to protect structures in the event of wildfire. The newly developed foam is not only unprecedented in its reduction of environmental harm, but its long-lasting protection against flames. After seven years in development, founder and […]
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Shipmans aren’t ready to give up
Tragically, the day before Thanksgiving, the Shipman family’s home on the Dooley Creek Farm in the Crystal Valley burned to the ground. Mollie Shipman knew the home her whole life. Her grandparents came over from Leadville, bought the property in 1949 and lived in the same house. The home was built in 1900 by, Mollie […]