FIREWORKS BANNED IN UNICORPORATED GARFIELD COUNTY
Glenwood Springs—The Garfield County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to ban the sale or use of fireworks in unincorporated parts of the county. The ban will be in effect between May 31st and July 5th. The recommendation to ban fireworks was made by local fire experts, Sheriff Lou Vallario, Colorado River Fire Rescue Chief Mike Morgan and County Emergency Manager Chris Bornholdt. The panel says despite the late season snowfall and recent rains, a few days of high winds and warm temperatures will change conditions drastically. They say extreme fire danger is expected during the months of June and July.
THOMPSON DIVIDE LETTER OF APPEAL SENT TO BLM
Aspen—An official letter of appeal from Pitkin County, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs has been sent the Bureau of Land Management regarding the suspension of oil and gas leases in the Thompson Divide. The letter, written by Assistant County Attorney Chris Sedlin is asking state BLM Director Helen Hankins to reconsider the decision to extend the 10 year leases held by SG Interests and Ursa Resources. The letter states that the leases should have been allowed to expire as stipulated in the original contracts.
COLORADO SNOWPACK IMPROVING
Denver—The snowpack in Colorado is getting closer to normal thanks to the snow and rain in April. Officials with the Natural Resources Conservation Service says from April 1st to May 1st, the snowpack improved nearly 10 percent to 83 percent of normal. They say unfortunately the last month’s storms bypassed southwest Colorado where snowpack levels remain far below average.
McCLURE PASS ROCKSLIDE
Paonia—Folks traveling between Paonia and the Roaring Fork Valley are going have to make the 140 mile detour around McClure Pass for the rest of the week as C-DOT crews clean up the mess and repair damages caused by a huge rockslide. The slide this past Sunday brought down several boulders including one the size of a dump truck onto the two lane road near Paonia Reservoir. No vehicles were caught in the slide but the damage to the road was significant. A gaping hole was left behind measuring two-feet deep, 12 feet long and 10 feet wide.
