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River fouled by mine waste in Colorado reopens for recreation
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on August 14th, 2015
Reuters: Authorities in southwestern Colorado said on Friday it was safe for people to once again kayak and raft along a stretch of river that was fouled by toxic waste from an abandoned mine more than a week ago.
A roughly 45-mile portion of the Animas River running through La Plata County, Colorado, to the New Mexico border was reopened to recreation by order of the county sheriff. The order included the city of Durango, a resort town popular for its outdoor water sports.
Water samples tested by the...
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Colorado an energy battleground as towns ban fracking
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on November 6th, 2013
Reuters: Three Colorado cities have rejected oil and gas production work that relies on so-called fracking, unofficial election returns showed on Wednesday in a setback for an industry that won other battles this year in Democratic strongholds like California.
Boulder, Lafayette and Fort Collins passed measures with solid margins to suspend or ban the technique formally known as hydraulic fracturing. But a fourth community, Broomfield, about 12 miles (19 km) east of Boulder, narrowly rejected a fracking...
Seven confirmed dead, 1,500 homes destroyed in Colorado floods
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on September 17th, 2013
Reuters: Seven people were confirmed dead and at least 1,500 homes destroyed in Colorado after a week of rare, torrential rains along the eastern slopes of the Rockies, and helicopter search-and-rescue flights resumed on Monday in flood-stricken areas.
Much of the evacuation effort was focused on remote foothill and canyon communities of Larimer and Boulder counties in north-central Colorado, where 1,000 residents remained stranded due to washed-out roads, bridges and communication lines, the county sheriff's...
Massive wind-stoked wildfires rage through Colorado forests
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on June 24th, 2013
Reuters: A trio of wind-driven wildfires roared unchecked across 76,000 acres of national forest in southwest Colorado on Monday and firefighters held the line against flames threatening the mountain town of South Fork.
Crews have been hampered in battling the West Fork Complex fires - which consist of three separate blazes - by the steep mountainous terrain and winds in excess of 50 miles an hour (80 km/h) on some ridgelines.
South Fork, the town of 600 residents evacuated last week as flames crept...
Raging wildfires force evacuation of two Colorado towns
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on June 21st, 2013
Reuters: Three wildfires sparked by lightning raged out of control in rugged Colorado mountain terrain on Friday, prompting the evacuation of two towns and menacing a third.
The West Fork Fire Complex - consisting of two separate fires in Rio Grande County in southern Colorado - forced 600 residents of South Fork to flee as high winds helped the blazes grow from 12,000 acres to 30,000 acres overnight.
"The fire behavior we saw yesterday was so extreme, it was ... unprecedented," said Eric Norton, a...
Raging Colorado, Arizona wildfires prompt evacuations
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on June 21st, 2013
Reuters: Several wildfires raged unchecked across drought-parched Colorado on Thursday, one threatening oil and gas wells close to the Utah border and another about 300 miles to the southeast chased a group of Boy Scouts from their camp near New Mexico.
A separate wind-whipped fire roaring through chaparral and pine forests in central Arizona forced the evacuation of about 460 homes near the town of Prescott, about 100 miles north of Phoenix.
Scorching temperatures, low humidity and gusting winds have...
Evacuation orders lifted as Colorado wildfire eases
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on March 17th, 2013
Reuters: Evacuation orders were lifted on Saturday for hundreds of Colorado residents forced to flee their homes due to a wind-driven wildfire in a canyon northwest of Denver, as firefighters made progress in containing the blaze, officials said. Calmer winds, higher humidity levels and cooler temperatures allowed firefighters to cut containment lines around 45 percent of the so-called Galena Fire, said Nick Christensen, spokesman for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. The blaze signaled an early start...
Firefighters made headway in Colorado, evacuees return home
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on July 1st, 2012
Reuters: Crews battling a deadly Colorado wildfire ranked the most destructive in state history have made enough headway to allow most evacuees home, but concerns remain about rogue bears and burglaries in vacant houses, officials said on Saturday.
The so-called Waldo Canyon Fire, stoked earlier this week by strong, erratic winds, is now 45 percent contained, although the damage wrought by the blaze has devastated the communities around Colorado Springs, the state's second-largest city.
The wildfire...
Colorado wildfire expands viciously, Obama plans visit
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on June 28th, 2012
Reuters: Firefighters struggled on Wednesday to beat back a fiercely aggressive wildfire raging at the edge of Colorado Springs that has forced at least 35,000 people from their homes and was nipping at the edges of the U.S. Air Force Academy.
The so-called Waldo Canyon Fire, fanned by gusting winds, has gutted an unknown number of homes on the wooded fringes of Colorado's second-most populous city and prompted more evacuations as flames roared out of control for a fifth day.
President Barack Obama...
Colorado wildfire worsens, forcing 7,000 more from homes
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on June 27th, 2012
Reuters: A monster Colorado wildfire raging near some of the most visited tourist areas in the state took a turn for the worse on Tuesday as hot winds pushed flames north, prompting the evacuation of 7,000 more people, officials said.
Colorado's so-called Waldo Canyon fire sent a mushroom cloud of smoke nearly 20,000 feet into the air over Colorado Springs near Pikes Peak, whose breathtaking vistas from the summit helped inspire the song "America the Beautiful".
Closer to the blaze, which has been fanned...