McCLURE PASS DEATH
Aspen—Pitkin County authorities are investigating the death of a Longmont man who’s body was found this past weekend near the top of McClure Pass. According to reports from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, 49 year old Matthew Barz was found on a rural road on Labor Day. McClure Pass was closed most of the day. Investigators from Pitkin and Gunnison counties are working on the case together. Officials say Barz had been camping in the area.
SMOKE IN GARCO COMING FROM NW COL FIRE
New Castle—Smoke from the Lost Solar Fire has found it’s way to Garfield County. Several concerned citizens have reportedly called emergency officials wondering if there’s a fire in the area. According to the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office and local fire officials, the plume of smoke that’s been visible from I-70, north of Silt as well as Harvey Gap isn’t as close as it seems. The smoke is coming from the Lost Solar Fire that’s been burning for over a month on forest service land north of Meeker.
HARVEY GAP ROAD REPAIRS
Silt—Reopening Harvey Gap Road is a high priority for Garfield County. The problem is, it’s far more complicated than simply laying down some new asphalt. A ditch leak caused a big chunk of County Road 237 to give way three weeks ago and it’s been closed ever since. Assistant Garfield County Manager Fred Jarman says the drier, warmer weather has helped conditions but the soil is still too wet and unstable to make repairs. Officials with the Silt Water Conservancy District have decided to reroute the ditch using about one thousand feet of pipe, a method that wasn’t used when the dam was built a century ago. The county meanwhile has agreed to contribute 100 thousand dollars toward the repair work and is sending an engineer out to the road to assess the situation and see if at least one lane can be opened to traffic.
HANGING LAKE TRAIL CLOSING THIS WEEKEND
Glenwood Springs—If your weekend plans included a climb up the Hanging Lake Trail, forget it. This Saturday, C-DOT and crews with Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers will be doing some heavy trail maintenance. Crews will be installing chain for the barrier posts to better protect the Spouting Rock sensitive habitat, removing graffiti from benches, bridges and rock walls along the 1.2 mile trail, installing a composite board on the benches to prevent personal items from falling into the creek and putting up new signs. C-DOT will close the off ramp Friday night.
