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08_01_2024amheadlines Greta Kerkhoff
Fire updates
There are four fires blazing in the Denver Metro Area – all of which began over the past five days.
The Stone Canyon Fire just north of Lyons has burned nearly 1,600 acres as of yesterday evening, and is 20% contained. One fatality has been reported, along with 15 structures destroyed. There’s still an All Clear in place for the northern and western portions of the Town of Lyons. That was issued yesterday.
The Alexander Mountain Fire west of Loveland is nearing 8,000 acres, with latest reports saying the blaze is 1% contained. Roughly 3,200 people have been evacuated. The latest mandatory evacuations for that fire include Dunraven Glade and the north side of Carter Lake.
The Quarry fire in Jefferson County had burned over 300 acres as of late last night, with 0% containment. 600 homes have been evacuated. There are still mandatory evacuation orders in place for Murphy Gulch and McKinney Ranch, among other neighborhoods.
And finally, the Lake Shore fire near Gross Reservoir in Boulder had burned 6 acres as of 8:30 p.m. last night, and was 0% contained. Flagstaff Road is still closed to westbound traffic, as is Lake Shore Drive in both directions.
This isn’t an expansive list of all evacuation zones and road closures.
For a full list of evacuation zones and road closures, you can go to nocoalert.org or boulderodm.gov.
You can also text LCEVAC to 888777 for updates.
KGNU will continue to keep you updated as the latest information on the fires comes out.
Boulder officials propose banning psilocybin healing centers in residential areas
Boulder officials have proposed banning psilocybin “healing centers” in residential areas around town.
The proposal comes in the wake of a November 2022 law passed by Colorado voters, which decriminalized the cultivation and personal use of psilocybin, or medical mushrooms, for adults over 21.
Under the relatively new law, the state is expected to begin licensing “healing centers” this year, where people can legally consume psilocybin under the supervision of professionals.
While cities can’t legally ban the healing centers entirely, they can impose restrictions on when and where the centers operate through the use of zoning codes.
In a memo to the Boulder City Council this week, city planners proposed zoning rules that would prohibit centers within 1,000 feet of residential areas.
According to the Boulder Reporting Lab, one of the main reasons for this restriction is to “avoid impacts of late operation” on neighborhoods.
City officials plan to gather feedback from the Boulder City Council today. Zoning ordinances for healing centers and cultivation sites are expected to go into effect in December.
FDA warns about ground cinnamon containing lead
The FDA is warning that several types of ground cinnamon in the U.S. are contaminated with high levels of lead and should be discarded.
This is the third alert from the Food and Drug Administration this year regarding the contamination. The newest alert adds 10 types of packaged ground cinnamon sold at popular outlets including Dollar Tree, Patel Brothers and Eurogrocery stores throughout the country.
The brands of cinnamon named in the warning include El Chilar, Marcum, SWAD, Supreme Tradition, Compania Indillor Orientale, ALB Flavor, Shahzada, Spice Class and La Frontera.
According to health officials, no amount of lead is safe, so the products should be avoided. Because spices are used in small amounts, the potential harm of a single use is small, but damage could occur after prolonged exposure.
The agency recommends discarding cinnamon from these brands, until further notice.
Big cats on November ballot
An initiative to ban big cat hunting will officially be on this November’s ballot, after gaining enough valid signatures to qualify.
Initiative 91 will ask Colorado voters to decide on banning the hunting seasons of bobcats, mountain lions, and lynx.
Big cats could still be killed by state or federal employees as a part of population management efforts or, with state permission, by ranchers to prevent the loss of livestock. Hunters killed over 500 mountain lions in the 2022-2023 season, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. In recent years, an average of 880 bobcats have been killed annually through hunting and fur trapping.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which oversees hunting in the state, has yet to take a position on the initiative.
A legislative effort to ban big cat hunting died 4-1 in 2022. Colorado Public Radio says this failure caused advocates to push the issue to voters.
