Fire at Rescue Mission farm kills animals, ruins 3 barns
Wellington – A fire at the Denver Rescue Mission’s Harvest Farm near Wellington in Larimer County on Sunday destroyed three barns, killed several animals and burned as much as 3,000 bales of hay, said Greta Ritchey, spokeswoman for the mission.
The fire was originally reported about 1:30 p.m. as a haystack fire, but by the time firefighters could get on the scene, the high winds had expanded the fire to multiple haystacks and outbuildings, said Wellington Fire Chief Dean Delaney.
“They lost all their feed for all their animals, 400 tons of alfalfa, 200 tons of corn stalk and three outbuildings,” Delaney said.
Thirty firefighters brought the blaze under control, but because of the winds of 15 to 40 mph, they couldn’t get it completely out. He said firefighters would monitor the remaining haystack fire overnight, “watching for flying embers.”
Many of the farm’s animals were rescued, but at least four sows and all the facility’s rabbits perished, Ritchey said.
No humans were injured.
ARAPAHOE BASIN
Project would nearly double skiing terrain
Arapahoe Basin is considering nearly doubling its terrain.
The area, now 487 acres, wants to add lift-served skiing on its back side on 325 acres in Montezuma Bowl. A little more than half would be intermediate terrain, with the rest expert and advanced.
“We think this project will address some of the congested areas we have, and it will add some fantastic skiing and riding,” said A-Basin general manager Alan Henceroth. “There’s some good stuff in Montezuma Bowl for different levels of skiers and riders, some big, double black diamonds and some great blue cruisers,” Henceroth said.
A preliminary report by the U.S. Forest Service says the Montezuma Bowl expansion would help disperse skier traffic throughout the area, leading to a more “well-rounded recreational experience.” Some trees would have to be removed.
The report said snowrider visits to Arapahoe Basin increased 33 percent in the past three years and likely will grow as the Front Range population increases.
The agency is accepting public comments on the proposal until Jan. 6.
The plan also would relocate the top terminal of the Exhibition Lift to make room for a 4,000-square-foot lodge. The Exhibition chair would be replaced with a high-speed quad.
FORT COLLINS
Recent crime stats now available online
The Fort Collins Police Department has created a new interactive website that shows crime statistics for the past three years.
Anyone with a computer can get the information by entering an address or clicking on a map.
“We have a high demand for this information,” crime analyst Lori Frank told 9News. “A lot of people call and want to know.”
Frank says many people want to know the crime rate in a neighborhood where they are considering purchasing a home.
Other calls come from parents of students at Colorado State University who want to check out the area where their children will be living.
The information is tracked according to police reporting districts. Each is about one-quarter to one-third of a square mile, and has approximately 500 residents. The statistics do not give specific street addresses because of privacy laws.
It took more than a year to compile the data. It’s available at fcgov.com/police/crime-map.php.
CHEYENNE
Police fatally shoot man inside vehicle
A 20-year-old man was fatally shot by police responding to a domestic disturbance call.
Joshua Rogers of Cheyenne was shot about 9:15 p.m. Friday while he was inside his sport utility vehicle, Deputy Police Chief Bill Stanford said.
Stanford said Rogers was apparently unarmed, although he also said a vehicle can be a threat to officers.
Few details about the shooting were being released as police and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents continued investigating the shooting.
The two officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave.
The last fatal shooting involving Cheyenne police was in 1983.
