Monday June 4, 2012

SUNSET MINE FIRE
A national fire management team has finished work on the Sunrise Mine Fire southwest of Gateway.  Officials declared the 5,700 fire 100% contained yesterday. The estimated cost of putting out the fire is $4.1 million.  The Sunrise Mine fire broke out May 25th in gusty winds.  At its peak, more than 600 firefighters were on the lines.


TANKER PILOTS KILLED
Two pilots are dead in an air tanker crash near Cedar City, Utah.  The plane had been dropping retardent on a 5,000 acre fire started by lightning in eastern Nevada Friday night and moved into Utah.  The BLM says the P-2V tanker went down just before 1:00 yesterday afternoon. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

GARCO FORECLOSURES DOWN
Officials in Garfield County say the number of foreclosure filings there is down, but still too high for comfort.  Chief Deputy Public Trustee Bob Slade tells the Daily Sentinel filings are on track to finish the year about 100 less than last year's record 701.  Home prices in Garfield County average $278,000 so far this year, down 11% from the average for all of last year.

3 SISTERS GRANT
The Mesa Land Trust is $25,000 short of its goal for building the Three Sisters project, 130 acres of trails and an educational center off Monument Road, but now is closer than ever. Alpine Bank has made a challenge grant, saying it will give $12,500 if the community will match that.  The Daily Sentinel says the Trust has already raised $1.6 million and hopes to begin construction in the fall.

COLORADO GAS PRICES
Gas prices in Colorado aren't falling as fast as the  climbed in early spring, but they are falling....down 2.4 cents a gallon in the past week to $3.69. According to GasBuddy.com, the price of gasoline in Colorado is now 1 cent a gallon higher than a year ago. The national average is $3.61.

C&F ROBBERY
Mesa county Sheriff's Deputies are looking for a man who held up the C&F Convenience Store on 32 Road late Saturday night.  The man, described as white, in his late teens or early 20s, about 5-6 with a thin build and wearing a black hoodie over his face, with dark pants and slippers showed the clerk a knife, and  demanded money.  He didn't get any money, but did take several items before running away.

CAR V BIKE
Police are looking into the role alcohol may have had when a 16 year old boy was hit by a car on Orchard Mesa.  It happened around 9:30 Friday night at Highway 50 and Palmer Street.  Investigators say the boy was riding his bike across the road when an eastbound car hit him, knocking him to the ground and causing serious injuries.  The driver stopped, and no arrests had been made after the accident.

MONTROSE WIRELESS NET
Downtown Montrose has unveiled a new wireless network providing free internet access.  A public/private partnership put together the network.  Montrose DDA Director Scott Shine says they hope to eventually cover the entire Main Steet corridor from the Uncompahre River to the San Juan Bypass.

LOWER NORTH FORK COMP
Victims of the Lower North Fork fire will be getting some compensation when Governor John Hickenlooper signs two bills today.  Three people died in the fire and 23  homes were destroyed.  The state has taken the blame for fire which started from embers left from a controlled burn.