State Division of Emergency Management officials said Saturday they’re scaling back blizzard relief efforts in parts of southeast Colorado.
“A large portion of the main county roads in seven counties are now cleared, and many ranchers are now able to feed their livestock on their own,” said Incident Commander Marc Mullenix.
Mullenix said relief work will continue in Baca, Las Animas and Prowers counties where help was still needed from two back-to-back blizzards, which killed thousands of cattle and stranded some motorists for days.
About 3,500 cattle are believed dead, a relatively small fraction of the 300,000 cattle snowbound in six southeastern Colorado counties, according to estimates by the state Department of Agriculture analysts.
In regional feedlots, another 1,000 cattle deaths were confirmed last week by veterinarian Bill Bennett, homeland security director for the state Agriculture Department.
During flyovers on Thursday, the Colorado Wing of the Civil Air Patrol spotted only one group of cattle that had not been fed, and later dropped hay for the livestock.
Rescue crews had anticipated more snow over the region on Friday, but said only about 2 inches fell, which didn’t complicate relief efforts.
The Wyoming Air National Guard dropped more than 88,000 pounds of hay to 2,510 head of stranded cattle in southeastern Colorado during the week.
One Wyoming C-130 and 10 airmen arrived at Pueblo on Wednesday to assist the Colorado National Guard with feeding cattle near Lamar.
DENVER
Charter bus rolls; 18 sent to hospital
A charter bus rolled onto its side Saturday on Peña Boulevard, and all 17 passengers and the driver were taken to local hospitals, some with minor injuries, according to Capt. Mike Ackman of the Aurora Fire Department.
The privately owned bus slid down an embankment around 3:45 p.m. near East 40th Avenue, Ackman said.
Eight passengers were taken to hospitals by ambulance and the rest were transported by public transportation, Ackman said.
The passengers were taken to the Aurora Medical Center South Campus and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Ackman said.
LA JUNTA
Texas-bound airplane drops off radar screen
The Civil Air Patrol searched an area in Otero County near La Junta on Saturday for a missing twin-engine airplane that was bound for Tyler, Texas.
The Piper Seneca flight originated in Pueblo, and family members in Texas called authorities after the plane failed to arrive, said Lt. Steve Hamilton, a CAP spokesman.
The aircraft dropped off radar about 20 miles outside La Junta while in a steep, descending turn, Hamilton said.
The plane departed Pueblo Airport on Friday morning around 6:30 a.m. No flight plan was filed. Crews are searching an area southeast of La Junta, Hamilton said.
It was not clear Saturday how many people were on board.
ALBUQUERQUE
At least 16 dead from year-end snowstorms
At least 16 people have died in New Mexico as a result of big year-end storms, and state officials say more bodies could be discovered as people check in with others who might have lost power because of the storm.
Of the 16 deaths, 10 were vehicle accidents related to driving on snow and ice; three stemmed from carbon monoxide poisoning; and another three were from exposure to cold, said Tim Stepetic, associate director of the state Office of the Medical Investigator.
A major storm hit the state Dec. 18-20, starting in the north and west and moving east. A second major storm roared into the state Dec. 28-30.
Capulin and Clayton reported snowdrifts of up to 9 feet.
Tim Manning, director of the state Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said local law enforcement and state police have been doing humanitarian checks in the most isolated parts of New Mexico.
“We’re doing everything possible to check on those communities and people throughout the state that may have not been heard from,” Manning said.
DENVER
Oral arguments set in Swift plant case
A federal judge has scheduled oral arguments for Friday in a lawsuit filed by a union representing workers at a Swift & Co. plant that was raided by immigration officials last month.
The United Food and Commercial Workers union, in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges that the federal government violated workers’ due-process rights during the raids.
A total of 1,282 people were arrested Dec. 12 at Swift meat plants in six states in the raids, which Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said were part of a crackdown on an identity-theft scheme. The arrests included about 260 workers in Greeley.
Federal prosecutors have responded in court documents that workers were not forced to talk to immigration agents, and that those who were arrested were informed of their rights.
GILLETTE, Wyo.
Pinnacle Bank sends checks to war spouses
Pinnacle Bank has sent $400 checks to the spouses of 183 National Guard members from three states who were deployed and unable to be home for the holidays.
Another 75 checks are waiting to go to families in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska, according to Ashley McCarten, spokeswoman for the Nashville, Tenn.-based bank chain.
The bank plans to distribute a total of $160,000 from the holiday season, the third year that the bank has given the money to families of those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. “It was a wonderful surprise, that’s for sure,” said Sherri Pangus of Gillette.
Pangus opened her check soon after Christmas. The check was made out in her name. “Thank you for your courage and determination,” read a letter accompanying the check.
TRINIDAD
Wind, blowing snow close span of I-25
About a 60-mile span of Interstate 25 in southern Colorado was closed in both directions Saturday because of blowing snow.
The highway shut down around 5 p.m. between Colorado City and Trinidad, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Blowing snow and ice forced the shutdown. Winds were gusting to at least 15 mph but could increase to 35 mph tonight, according to the National Weather Service.
There were no reports of travelers being stuck on the highway, which is in an area that has been hard hit by the recent series of snowstorms.
