May hot spell could increase fire danger
The spring green-up across Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region could result in higher fire danger by the end of the month as grass and other fuels begin to dry out, fire experts said Thursday.
The five-state Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center updated its wildfire forecast this week. The report still predicts an average fire season in Colorado, meaning about 2,300 fires will blacken between 50,000 and 60,000 acres.
Spokesman Larry Helmerick said the southwestern corner of Colorado can expect fewer fires this summer after the area received above-average moisture last winter. But other parts of the state are drying out.
“We had a hot spell in the end of May that has started the curing process across some sections of Colorado,” said Helmerick. “So, we’re just getting ready. A weaker-than-average monsoon prediction could increase our fire danger in late June in Colorado.” According to the forecast, the northern Rocky Mountains also are facing a dry year.
“We don’t expect another cool and wet summer like we had in 2004,” Helmerick said. “We’re looking for July, August and September, with a weaker monsoon season, to possibly give us a higher potential for fire.”
University classes approved for transfer
The Colorado Commission on Higher Education unanimously decided Thursday which classes are guaranteed to transfer among the state’s public universities and colleges.
A third of the approximately 300 classes that state institutions submitted as core curriculum were rejected by a group of professors who looked through the courses to make sure they met state standards.
Jack Burns, vice president for Academic Affairs and Research at the University of Colorado, told the commission that the rejected classes were not substandard and that state standards might have to be adjusted to include classes such as economics, which doesn’t have a writing component but is still necessary.
But commission executive director Rick O’Donnell said he is concerned that students might finish their core classes without learning basic writing and math.
Charge filed in case of kitten tossed at wall
A 29-year-old Denver man has been charged with animal cruelty for throwing his girlfriend’s kitten against the wall while he and the woman argued May 13.
District Attorney Mitch Morrissey filed one count of aggravated animal cruelty against James Valdez for the incident.
The charge is a Class 6 felony. Valdez is being held in Denver County Jail on $10,000 bail and is scheduled to be formally advised of the charge Monday.
Donors help revive Juneteenth festival
Denver’s Juneteenth celebration is well on its way to financial health, thanks to Washington Mutual and the efforts of two women.
The Five Points Business Association normally hosts the event but had called it off because of economic troubles. City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth and historian Grace Stiles revived it and are putting on a smaller version this year, without a parade.
Washington Mutual has committed $4,000 to be host sponsor of the “Nineteenth of June Community Celebration in Five Points,” Wedgeworth said.
The woman have raised $15,000 for the event, well above their projected budget of $8,000.
