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08_04_25_headlines Ainsley Coogan
Wildfires
The Elk fire burning in Western Colorado has expanded to some 2,000 acres, and has burned at least three homes.
Gov. Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency for the fire, burning in Rio Blanco County on the western slopes of Colorado.
The declaration will allow more resources to be directed to fight the fire, which sparked from a lightning strike noon on Saturday. By 2 p.m. on Sunday, 600 acres had burned.
Fire crews have been actively involved in suppression efforts, from both the air and the ground, according to Rio Blanco’s sheriff’s office. The fire is burning on a mix of private and state-owned land.
Additionally, a fire near Carbondale has burned 115 acres. That fire began Saturday morning. As of 4:30 p.m. Sunday, it has zero containment. That’s according to the Denver Post.
Polis’ news release says that the conditions in northwest Colorado are “near record levels” and that elevated fire risk is forecast for the coming week.
New state laws
A number of new state laws go into effect this Wednesday, including several gun safety laws, and a law meant to help prevent wildfires.
The new laws were all passed in the 2025 session of the Colorado legislature and take effect on Wednesday, 90 days after the General Assembly adjourned.
Among them is Senate Bill 205, the Firearm Serial Number Check. The law allows gun resellers to request a check on a firearm serial number before they buy it from a seller. If the serial number check shows the weapon was lost, reported stolen, or is involved in a criminal investigation, the gun reseller will be required to notify law enforcement within 48 hours.
House Bill 1250 is known as Gun Violence Prevention and Parents of Students. It requires Colorado’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention to post material on gun violence prevention on its website, and for local education providers to distribute the information.
House Bill 1098 requires the Department of Public Safety to create an automated system to notify domestic violence victims with certain information about their abusers, including when the abuser attempts to buy a gun, according to a summary by the University of Colorado’s Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative.
The gun safety group Colorado Ceasefire, meantime, hailed these laws when Governor Jared Polis signed them in June, saying that they make Colorado a safer place to live.
Also going into effect on Wednesday is House Bill 1009, which is aimed at preventing and mitigating wildfire damage. The new law encourages local governments to reduce dead vegetation. Excessive dead vegetation was one of several contributors to Boulder County’s catastrophic Marshall Mesa wildfire, on the next-to-last day of 2021.
Clean energy projects prioritized
The governor, meanwhile, is directing state agencies to prioritize clean energy projects that qualify for three tax credits before they expire under President Donald Trump’s tax bill.
The credits have provided tax incentives for homeowners and energy producers that use clean energy, such as wind or solar. The tax bill, passed early last month, gives less time for the use of those credits.
The governor said in a letter sent on Friday that the Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Public Health and Environment will work to provide faster responses, prioritize clean energy-related decisions and provide technical assistance to local governments. That’s according to The Denver Post.
Polis wrote that the state is working to ensure that qualifying projects will start construction or be placed in service in time to receive federal tax credits. The state will also try to speed up contracts for efforts on state property that are eligible for tax credits, including vehicle charging and standing up renewable energy projects. That’s according to The Denver Post.
Possible Colorado Measles case
A person contagious with measles may have exposed visitors to a gift shop at the Monarch Pass on Highway 50 east of Salida.
State health officials say the contagious person, described as a visitor from out of state, went into the Crest Gift Shop on July 25, between 4:30 and 7 p.m. according to the Denver Post. Anyone who was in the store in that time frame should watch for symptoms of measles, which include a fever, cough, and a runny nose, and seek treatment if they appear. Symptoms could show as late as August 15.
Colorado has had 16 measles cases this year, according to officials. In an average year there are two or fewer cases.
