A lightning-caused wildfire burned up to 65 acres on a ridge top south of Waterton Canyon on Tuesday, said Terry McCann of the U.S. Forest Service.
The fire burned brush oak atop a steep slope south of the South Platte River in rough terrain that has no easy access, McCann said. The blaze was on the edge of the Pike National Forest about 3 miles from the mouth of the canyon.
“We’re not facing any big threat right now,” McCann said. “The nearest homes are 2 to 3 miles away, over a couple of ridges. And the Lockheed-Martin plant, also a couple of miles away, isn’t threatened.”
The humidity in the area was rising as evening approached Tuesday, which would help keep the blaze from spreading overnight, McCann said.
The fire was fought by a single-engine air tanker and a helicopter, with a couple of Forest Service fire engines standing by on an access road along the north side of the river, he said.
The aerial assault was put on hold as darkness fell Tuesday, and a couple of hand crews and an additional air tanker probably would be on hand to join the firefighting today, he said.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
1 killed, 2 hospitalized in Interstate 70 crash
A woman was killed and two people were hospitalized as the result of a crash between an 18-wheeler, a three-quarter-ton pickup truck and a small car on Interstate 70 near West Colfax Avenue about 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Colorado State Patrol reported.
The victims were all in a 2005 Honda Civic. A female passenger was dead at the scene, and another woman and a man were taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, the patrol said.
The westbound Honda crossed the median of the interstate, was struck by the pickup and spun into the path of the semi, the patrol said.
The names of the victims weren’t immediately released.
FORT COLLINS
Family cat’s plague prompts health alert
A pet cat belonging to a family living in west Fort Collins near Elizabeth Street and Overland Trail has been diagnosed with plague, according to the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment.
The cat was first treated by a veterinarian June 8, and test results confirmed the diagnosis Tuesday. The cat has recovered, the health department said.
Officials are advising residents living nearby to avoid sick or dead rodents and to be alert to possible signs of plague in pets, particularly cats.
LAMAR
National Guard pilot ejects as jet skids
A Colorado Air National Guard pilot ejected from an F-16 after landing the plane at Lamar Municipal Airport after a warning light indicated a possible fire on board, according to Lt. Nicole David, spokeswoman for the wing.
The pilot, whose name was not released, suffered a minor ankle injury and was treated at a clinic at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.
“He landed and didn’t have brakes and didn’t have hydraulics and had to eject, and the plane skidded,” David said.
BOULDER
Churchill’s “grades” from students drop
Embattled University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill received lower “grades” from his students during the spring semester than he has in past years.
Churchill had received A’s and B’s in six categories since at least fall 2002, the Daily Camera reported Tuesday. Last semester, students gave him and his three courses A’s, B’s, C’s and a D-plus for “accessibility.”
The ethnic studies professor has drawn criticism for his post- Sept. 11 essay in which he compared some of the World Trade Center victims to a Nazi architect of the Holocaust. He is under investigation on allegations of plagiarism.
Churchill blamed his low accessibility score on an “endless swarm of ambush journalists” who were “continuously intruding into my work environment, thus pre-empting the time I tried to devote to my students.”
BOULDER
2 sites considered for rail maintenance
Transportation planners said they will continue to study two possible sites in Boulder for a 90-acre commuter rail maintenance facility. One site is along the south side of Arapahoe Road from 48th Street to 63rd Street; the other is along the Diagonal Highway from 63rd Street to Colorado 52.
Officials working on an environmental study of the proposed FasTracks commuter rail line to Boulder and Longmont from Denver are considering a Boulder site for the maintenance center if the Boulder- Longmont line is the only FasTracks rail route that uses diesel-powered commuter rail. If other FasTracks rail lines select commuter rail as well, the maintenance center is expected to be just north of downtown Denver.
DENVER
Street near DU named for retiring Ritchie
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper dedicated a street near the University of Denver as Daniel L. Ritchie Way in honor of the retiring chancellor, according to a DU news release.
Ritchie, who leaves his job as head of DU on Thursday, served the campus for 16 years and is credited with rescuing the troubled school.
East Warren Avenue and Warren Circle on either side of South University Boulevard were named after Ritchie.
HEENEY
Green Mtn. Reservoir may fill this weekend
With snowmelt still cascading down from the high peaks, Green Mountain Reservoir is expected to fill for the first time in five years this weekend, and dam operators are releasing ever-larger amounts of water into the Blue River.
Releases below the dam were expected to increase to 1,400 cubic feet per second by the end of Tuesday, with yet more expected, according to Kara Lamb, spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Reclamation.
WYOMING
NTSB takes over probe of Walton crash
The National Transportation Safety Board has taken over the investigation in Monday’s crash of an experimental, kit-built aircraft that killed Wal-Mart heir John T. Walton, said Joan Anzelmo of Grand Teton National Park.
The NTSB announced Tuesday that an investigator from its regional office was at the scene of the crash, near the northern end of Jackson Hole Airport, and had completed an initial examination of the CGS Hawk Arrow airplane Walton was piloting.
Earlier it had been reported that park rangers would conduct the investigation because neither the NTSB nor the Federal Aviation Administration typically investigates accidents involving experimental aircraft.
