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07_17_25_am_headlines Ainsley Coogan
Western wildfires
Wildfires are burning tens of thousands of acres across western Colorado, and forecasts show conditions are ripe for more growth.
According to the U-S Drought Monitor, much of western Colorado and eastern Utah is in moderate to extreme drought.
Forecasters are predicting that relative humidity will increase a little bit this week, and there could be small amounts of rain, but there’s also a significant chance of dry lightning, which could lead to more ignitions.
Rob Powell is with a federal incident management team fighting two fires in Mesa County near the Colorado / Utah border.
He says even if we see the weather improve, the hot, dry summer has created dangerous conditions.
“Your fuels are extremely dry. Your pinyon juniper, oakbrush is cured down. There’s a lot of cheatgrass and you realize the steepness of this terrain. It’s just not a good place to fight fire, and the fire wants to go,” Powell said.
Storms can also bring high winds, which can rapidly change fire conditions.
Powell says the Turner Gulch fire grew by 7,000 acres on Monday, due to a shift in the winds.
The other fire burning in Mesa County is the Wright Draw fires, which has consumed 448 acres. The Deer Creek fire, near the town of Paradox, is 7% contained and has burned nearly 15,000 acres.
The South Rim fire in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has burned more than 4,000 acres, with no containment. A fire official has added that it has consumed 85% of the south rim. The Sowbelly fire near Delta has burned more than 2,200 acres but hasn’t grown significantly as of yesterday. It was at 13% contained.
Proposed NOAA cuts
The House Appropriations Committee has released a draft bill that includes a 6% cut to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.
A 6% reduction translates to $300 million, and would all but ensure NOAA continues mass layoffs and jeopardizes key programs, according to Boulder Reporting Lab.
Even so, a 6% cut is less than the 25% cut proposed by the Trump administration, which would eliminate NOAA’s entire research division. That division, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, funds four Boulder-based NOAA research labs, along with a partnership with the University of Colorado.
Longmont West Nile
The City of Longmont will begin spraying for mosquitoes this evening, after recording its first positive test for the West Nile Virus in the insects.
That positive test came on Tuesday, according to the Daily Camera. The spraying will be in designated areas beginning tonight.
West Nile-positive mosquitoes have already been found in Boulder, Denver, Larimer and Weld Counties this summer.
Weather permitting, tonight’s Longmont spray areas include the Jim Hamm Nature Area, Garden Acres Park, The Shores, Sandstone Ranch and the St. Vrain Greenway.
CU Strategic Plan
The University of Colorado Boulder is working to increase its retention and hiring of minority faculty and staff, as well as meet fundraising and researching goals. As part of its 2021-2026 Strategic Plan, the university plans to reach a goal of minorities making up 21% of new faculty hires and 21% of new staff hires.
CU’s underrepresented minority faculty and staff include those of Hispanic and Latino, Black and African American, American Indian and Pacific Islander descent.
This fiscal year as of May 31, 13% of new faculty hires are minorities and 25% of new staff hires are minorities.
CU Boulder’s retention rate for underrepresented faculty is 90% right now, which is the same as the 2026 goal in the plan.
The plan also sets goals for increased fundraising and researching. As of June 24, the university has exceeded its goal for this year by 30%, with $206.6 million raised in fundraising and gifts.
In research funding for the fiscal year, CU Boulder earned $691.8 million as of May 31. The goal for 2026 is to reach $800 million.
Three new wolf packs
Three new wolf packs have formed in Colorado.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has confirmed the new packs, and is expected to have details about them at a CPW Commission meeting today.
The new packs have been named the One Ear Pack, in Jackson County; the King Mountain Pack in Routt County; and the Three Creeks Pack in Rio Blanco County.
The new packs were formed after wolf pups were born this spring. State wildlife officials haven’t said how many pups are in the new packs.
The Colorado Sun says this is all part of the state’s wolf reintroduction program. That voter-approved project has been controversial, because ranchers say the predatory wolves have been killing livestock. One ranchers group recently called for the removal of an already-existing wolf pack, because of several attacks earlier this year.
The CPW has thus far not acted on the ranchers’ request. A spokesperson for the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project said most wolves are not causing any problems for ranchers.
