Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Social Media Rates Horsetooth Reservoir as 3rd Best Lake in America

News Link

This would be good press for Horsetooth until you read the details. Lake Harriet in Minneapolis is #1? and Tahoe doesn't make the list?

SUV Slides Off I-70 Rolls Over Down Embankment and Lands on Hwy 40, 3 Injured

News Link

Heavy Snowfall in Mountains Brings Season's First Avalanche Warnings

News Link
1 skier-triggered avalanche reported on Berthoud Pass.

High Winds Fan 300 Acre Wildfire on Green Mountain

News Link

Evacuations required before fire is contained last night.

This shot shows the fire concentrated in gullies where scrub oak and bushes provide fuel. Looks a lot like lava flows coming down Kilauea in Hawaii.





















                                                                      Photo credit: Katie Wood, Denver Post

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Politician Exploits "Terrorist" Squirrels

News Link

Cherry Creek Dam Fortification Study Show Costs Are Justified

News Link
The study was initiated after the 2013 flood caused concern that a bigger strom might overtop the Cherry Creek Dam, causing a collapse and catastrophic flooding in Denver. The Corps of Engineers estimates that such a scenario would flood 300,000 people downstream and cause $13 billion in property damage. A flood in 1933 caused the overtopping and failure of a dam on Cherry Creek that killed 2 people and caused about $20 million (in today's dollars) in damages at a time when there was far less infrastructure and population downstream - News Account of 1933 Dam Failure  The reconstruction of the dam was not completed until 1950.

$30 Million Expended to Fight Beaver Creek Fire

News Link
The 2 guys from Alabama that started the Cold Spring fire in Nederland were orderd to pay the costs of fighting that fire. The teen arsonist charged with starting the Beaver Creek fire might have to spend the rest of his life making payments.

Friday, November 18, 2016

2 Killed in Auto Crashes on Wet, Snowy Roads

News Link
One on the Georgetown hill, the other at the I-25/I-76 ramp.

Oil Tanker Slides Off Road and Rolls Over in Brighton

News Link

Dozens of Flights Delayed at DIA

News Link

20 Car Pileup on I-70 at Floyd Hill, Crash in Eisenhower Tunnel Close I-70 in Both Directions

News Link
2 injured.  We were driving back from Moab and barely made it through. I-70 was closed from Vail to Idaho Springs. We made it over Vail Pass before the closure but had to take Loveland Pass from Silverthorne and then sat for an hour at the tunnel just east of Idaho Springs from the Evergreen accident backup.

Bear Opens Door, Destroys SUV in Steamboat Springs Trying to Get Out

News Link
2nd time this has happened in Steamboat this year. Little known fact from Parks and Wildlife - air fresheners are a very strong attractor for bears.

Hwy 14 Near Walden Closed by Wildfire

News Link

Landslide Prevention Project Completed at Cheyenne Mountain

News Link
During the 2013 floods a landslide blocked the entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain facility. $13 million and 3 years later a project to prevent that from happening again was completed by the US Air Force.

Denver Temperatures Plummet 55 Degrees

News Link

What a difference one day makes. Record high tempertatures and summer-like conditions followed by 2 inches of snow and 15 degrees this morning. The third latest "first snow"  - only in Colorado!

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Small Wildfire Breaks Out Near Red Feather Lakes

News Link
Just north of the 2012 High Park and Hewlett Park wildfire burn areas.

Junkins Fire 100% Contained

News Link
Started Oct 17 by 70 mph winds launching a metal shed into a power pole, it scorched 15,000 acres in the first 12 hours. Hundreds of firefighters on the ground and a fleet of aerial tankers limited the extent of the fire to about 19,000 acres after 3 weeks.

End of Daylight Savings Time Means More Auto-Wildlife Collisions

News Link
The time change aligns rush hour with dawn and dusk.

Friday, November 4, 2016

Rockfall at New Mexico WIPP Results in Facility Evacuation

News Link
As far as I know this is a first for rockfall event that could cause regional damage via a radiation release.