Routt County

Summit and Eagle counties have seen significant increases in second home purchases over the last year.

Three finalists have been selected for the prestigious 2021 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award.

Due to an extensive land and road closure caused by the Silver Creek Fire, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will offer hunters who hold licenses for Game Management Unit 27 the opportunity to request a license refund or preference points restoration up to the day before the season begins, effective immediately.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife family is mourning the sudden, tragic loss of one of its own.

Tuesday afternoon around 4:30 p.m., 24-year-old David Mutabazi, a seasonal employee at Steamboat Lake State Park since May, apparently drowned while swimming in the park's lake after his shift had ended. A witness says Mutabazi was approximately 100 yards from shore when he began struggling in the water. The witness says she tried to swim to him and help, but Mutabazi disappeared under the water before she was able to reach him.

Due to critically low water flow caused by dry conditions and minimal snowpack levels, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will close a 0.6-mile stretch of the Yampa River between the dam at Stagecoach State Park down to the lowermost park boundary.

The closure begins June 14 and will continue until further notice.

The Bureau of Land Management plans to offer nearly 59,000 acres of land in Colorado at an upcoming oil and gas lease auction.

The lease sale, set for June 7, includes 64 parcels located in Jackson, Moffat, Rio Blanco and Routt counties in the northeast corner of the state. Bidding begins at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Time at www.energynet.com.

The BLM is accepting public protests regarding the auction through April 30, which can be submitted to the BLM Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield Street, Lakewood, CO 80215.

Colorado now has three fires burning in the northwest part of the state, with nearly 6,000 acres consumed. The latest fire is in Garfield county, while the remaining fires are located in Routt County.

The latest fire, known as the Himes Peak Fire, is burning inside 2002's Big Fish Fire perimeter 46 miles east of Meeker.

The blaze was started September 1 by lightning in steep terrain that has a large number of dead and down trees.

A new fire in Routt County, located eight miles northeast of Hayden or 13 miles northwest of Steamboat Springs, has burned 2,287 acres since its start Monday.

The Deep Creek Fire was reported at 11:15 a.m. Monday, and is located near the Steer Park Fire that was contained last week. It is unknown if the two fires are related.

Nearly 170 firefighters are working the blaze, which is burning in conifer, aspen and gambel oak trees on a mix of private and Bureau of Land Management property. The fire is encountering dead and downed trees, providing abundant fuel.

The Big Red Fire, discovered in Routt County Friday, experienced major growth over the holiday weekend, reaching over 1,400 acres.

The fire is believed to have been started by lightning August 19 - the last time storms were in the area. The fire is burning in the Routt National Forest north of Big Red Park about five miles south of the Colorado-Wyoming border or 45 miles north of Steamboat Springs.

Wildland fires are typically named after the closest prominent geographic feature or landmark.