Tag: Colorado Natural Resources

Northern Colorado health officials confirm first West Nile Virus case in Weld County

Posted on by Leave a comment
macro photo of a brown mosquito

On Monday, health officials in Northern Colorado confirmed the first case of West Nile Virus found in Weld County this year. The Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment says the first case of 2026 comes one month later than it did in 2025. Health officials said they investigated 35 cases of West Nile in Weld County last year. Fortunately, the number of trapped Culex mosquitoes responsible for transmitting the virus is at a five year low.

However, approximately 80% of the ones captured have been in three zones which cover areas including: The Greeley, Evans, Kersey, LaSalle area The Johnstown, Milliken and Platteville area The Firestone, Dacono and Fort Lupton area Residents are encouraged to drain standing water around their homes every week and avoid outdoor activities during dusk and dawn, when the mosquitoes are more active.

They encourage the public to use insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, lemon eucalyptus oil or para-menthane-diol. Residents should also wear long sleeves, pants and hats when outside. West Nile symptoms typically appear between three and 14 days after infection. Although many people do not show symptoms, those infected might experience fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, muscle aches, weakness and/or a rash. The WCDPHE said anyone who develops symptoms is encouraged to see a medical professional immediately.

Source: Northern Colorado health officials confirm first West Nile Virus case in Weld County – CBS Colorado

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Romans 5:10

Finding Truth and Life in Jesus

In a world filled with competing voices, confusing paths, and endless distractions, Jesus doesn’t simply show us the way He declares, ‘I am the way.’ When everything around you…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Mudslide blocks road along Colorado River in Eagle County

Posted on by Leave a comment

Crews are working to clear a large mudslide that brought boulders and debris down on a road in Eagle County, Colorado. On Saturday afternoon, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office said the area near Sweetwater Road and Colorado River Road is closed due to the slide. Photos shared by the sheriff’s office show a significant amount of mud and large boulders scattered across Colorado River Road. Eagle County Sheriff’s Office Drivers should avoid the area and give crews room to work.

Officials have not yet released an estimate on when the road is expected to reopen. An active monsoon pattern has brought rain to many parts of Colorado over the weekend. Chances of severe storms will primarily affect the mountains and high country through the afternoon on Sunday. More rain is expected on Monday, but should begin to taper off by Tuesday evening.

Source: Mudslide blocks road along Colorado River in Eagle County – CBS Colorado

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.
James 1:19

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Colorado wildlife agents remove bear from south Denver neighborhood after it climbed a tree and drew a crowd

Posted on by Leave a comment

Thanks to the drought, bears are showing up places they never have before. It’s a message wildlife experts have been saying for months, and while some Colorado residents might be tired of hearing it, the people in Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood got a reminder Sunday morning that no matter how tired you might be of the message, bears will come anyway and you need to keep an eye out. “How did it get here? We’re in Platte Park. We’re not in Evergreen or Golden,” remarked Faye Sands, who owns a home directly across from the tree the bear eventually climbed into.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the bear is a 1-year-old male. They also say they can’t have a bear in such a populated area. Especially since there was a farmers’ market right around the corner. So they had to tranquilize him and take him back to the mountains. Neighbors say the first noticed the bear in the tree around 8 a.m. “My neighbor called me. I was in bed. She said there’s a bear in the cottonwood tree,” said Sands. “I didn’t believe it and looked out and there he was, just a big bear,” said Allison Schmidt who is neighbors with Faye Sands. Eventually a crowd of curiosity grew. “We went for a run, and then we stopped by Duffeyrolls. Got some food and we headed back home and saw a crowd,” said another neighbor. I really like animals, so I liked to watch them,” said young London Goellick. Neighbors in Platt Park say it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “I’ve lived here for over 15 years, and I’ve never seen.

I’ve seen, like, maybe a raccoon, ” said Sands. “I don’t think we’ll ever see up there in a tree, two streets down from where we live again,” said one neighbor. Even though they enjoyed the up close and personal experience with one of Colorado’s most intriguing creatures, they are glad it’s all over and thankful for the CPW agents who removed the bear. “They were so careful and caring and helpful, talking to help mitigate the crowd. They thought about everything that they could and they did a really incredible job,” said Schmidt.

Source: Colorado wildlife agents remove bear from south Denver neighborhood after it climbed a tree and drew a crowd – CBS Colorado

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
James 1:6

Hope in the dark

Pip: A mountain village, a wandering stranger, a mother weaving a basket by the river — Drink of Jesus has been building a world where ancient scripture lands like…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Two people injured in recent bear attacks in Colorado high country

Posted on by Leave a comment
Black bear crossing a suburban street near wooded homes

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says two people were recently injured in separate bear attacks in the high country. On Tuesday, a bear reportedly entered a home in Steamboat Springs near Fish Creek Falls Road. The woman told wildlife officers the bear entered her home through the sliding glass door around 1 a.m., and she attempted to chase it back outside. The bear then struck her in the face. CPW says the woman drove herself to the hospital for treatment and is now recovering at home. Investigators say the bear forced its way through the door and knocked it off its track to get inside the home.

Wildlife officers have alerted the neighbors to take precautions and have set up a bear trap in the area. Another attack happened around 3 a.m. Wednesday in the Aspen area. CPW says a man experiencing homelessness was sleeping in Rio Grande Park when a bear approached and bit him on the head. The man woke up, managed to escape from his sleeping bag, and then escaped from the bear. He called for help and was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries to his head and face. CPW says the man has since been released from the hospital.  Wildlife officers found a female bear in the area matching the description and euthanized her, as per CPW policy.

They say that a full necropsy will be performed on the bear. These most recent encounters follow an attack earlier this week in the Eagle-Vail area. CPW is warning that there have been a record number of bear reports this year due to the ongoing drought. The bears are entering hyperphagia and are searching for food to prepare for winter, but the drought has reduced the availability of their usual food sources.

This is pushing them further into residential areas in search of food sources such as unsecured trash, birdseed, pet food and barbecue grills. Wildlife officials are urging the public to safely secure all possible food sources and keep grills clean. They asked residents to take precautions and to secure all doors and windows, including those on garages, to prevent bears from entering homes. If a bear does enter a home, CPW says the resident should leave immediately and call 911. Anyone experiencing bear issues should contact CPW as soon as possible.

Source: Two people injured in recent bear attacks in Colorado high country – CBS Colorado

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.”
Malachi 3:10

The Distraction of Fear

Fear has a way of making tomorrow feel more real than today. But you were never meant to live inside a future that hasn’t happened yet,…

Keep reading

Too Busy to Hear God

You can be so busy doing things for God that you never stop long enough to hear from God. Sometimes the biggest distraction in your life…

Keep reading

Who Has Your Attention?

Your attention is one of the most valuable things you own, and everyone wants a piece of it. The question isn’t whether something is getting your…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Colorado firefighters say bear broke into home and started fire

Posted on by Leave a comment

Firefighters in Crested Butte said that a house fire was started by a bear after the animal got inside the private residence. The Crested Butte Fire Protection District posted on its Facebook page that crews responded to a residential structure fire overnight on Aug. 19 in the Mt. Crested Butte neighborhood.  According to fire officials, the bear forced its way through an exterior door and then broke through a large pane of glass to get inside the home. Once inside, the bear knocked over shelves, furniture and window coverings in the entryway and living room before moving into the kitchen. 

CBS After the bear moved into the kitchen, the bear tore apart the refrigerator, scattered the contents of the trash can, destroyed stuff that was on the counter, and broke apart a dish-drying rack. The wooden rack landed on the electric stovetop, which was turned on at some point after the bear got into the kitchen. Investigators said the rack caught fire and filled the home with smoke.  Two people were inside the home when the bear broke in and they called 911. They said the bear scratched at their bedroom door and its behavior became increasingly erratic and aggressive as the smoke detector sounded an alarm.  When Crested Butte Marshals and Mt. Crested Butte Police Department officers arrived, they saw the bear on its hind legs trying to break through the living room’s front window, with smoke and flames visible in the kitchen behind the bear.  Officers said that because of the bear’s aggressive behavior, the active fire, and limited access to the home, officers euthanized the bear and then extinguished the kitchen fire. 

Crested Butte Fire Protection District crews were dispatched at 1:16 a.m. and on the way were told that the bear had been euthanized and the fire was believed to be out. The people inside the home were not injured.  Investigators said there was no trash, food or other attractants stored outside or in vehicles at the property but did confirm the residence had previously experienced a bear entering the home on at least one other occasion.    Colorado Parks and Wildlife responded to the scene to remove the bear.     

Source: Colorado firefighters say bear broke into home and started fire – CBS Colorado

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
Psalm 46:10

Finding Strength in God

You don’t have to carry this alone, He is your safe place and your help in every moment of need.  Bible Verse:God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and…

Keep reading

Faith Under Pressure

Pip: Drink of Jesus is a site that treats ancient Scripture the way a good contractor treats load-bearing walls — you don’t move them just because the room looks…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Bear tears through screen, breaks into Colorado Cherry Company building to eat blueberry pie

Posted on by Leave a comment
Yogi Bear reclining with a sandwich beside signs reading “Jellystone Park - Visitor’s Recreation Area,” “Yogi Bear’s Retreat,” and “Yogi’s Den”; picnic basket reads “Picnic Basket.”

The Colorado Cherry Company, a Colorado staple, offers pies so legendary that even bears want a taste. This week a young bear broke into the Colorado Cherry Company’s location on Highway 36 north of Lyons to chow down on a blueberry pie. Colorado Cherry Company Surprisingly, it’s not the first time this has happened. Back in 2015, a bear was able to get in and eat 28 pies, according to employees. The bear enjoyed many flavors but apparently did not touch strawberry rhubarb. The Cherry Company is owned by the family of CBS Colorado’s First Alert Meteorologist Alex Lehnert.

With Alex’s brother now running the shop, a new generation of bears seems to have taken an interest. Wednesday, employees at the Colorado Cherry Company near Lyons arrived to discover someone with a taste for blueberry pie had made an overnight visit to the shop. “An eaten pie on the ground with the paw prints, little blueberry paw prints on the glass,” said Bailey Sandahl, general manager of the Colorado Cherry Company location. The clues left behind pointed to one suspect. “We do have like some prints here from his nose,” said Sielh Avila, a Colorado Cherry Company employee, while indicating the window the bear entered through. Just after the shop closed, employees think the smell of fresh-baked pie wafting from some windows lured the bear in.

“Behind this window is where we have our ovens, and with them on, it gets pretty hot. So we like to open this during the day,” Avila said. “I guess the closers, they didn’t close it all the way.” It was a simple mistake, and one that made it easy as pie for the bear to break in. “I guess it was open just enough that the bear could smell it. And we do have a screen which used to be right here in front of the windows. And I guess he tore right through that. He opened the window and he climbed right in,” Avila said. “He went straight for the pies by the register, and he pulled a couple off the shelf, put them on the floor, helped himself to those.” The bear ate his fill, perused the store’s other offerings, then left, politely not breaking anything. “That’s him again on the other side, looking at the brochures, deciding where he’s going to go next,” Sandahl said, chuckling, while looking at security camera video showing the bear’s activities in the shop.

“Nothing was broken … except the pie.” “It says outside that Yogi Bear eats here, and it lives up to the hype,” a customer said Friday. “This seems like paradise for a bear.” Customers can’t blame the bear. “I think the bear made a good choice, picking the cherry pie because it is the best pie here,” another customer said. But the Cherry Company says he won’t be receiving an invite back anytime soon. “As cute as it was, we don’t want it happening again,” Sandahl said. “A fed bear is a dead bear so we’re doing everything we can to help fix that, so making sure triple checking all the doors are locked up at night, making sure the trash is sealed up and beared off.” It’s been a record-high year for bear sightings and conflicts in Colorado.

Officials have warned this year’s drought is pushing hungry bears closer to the Front Range, and to humans, in search of food.  The Cherry Company admits there’s more bear-proofing that can be done on the old building. They’re looking at reinforcing the doors and windows, and replacing doorknobs, because once a bear finds a food source, they will go back in. “I’m going to keep coming back where I’m fed. So obviously, you don’t want to encourage that. You want to keep the bear population away from the rest of us, for their sake and our sake,” Sandahl said. “It’s a give-and-take. We lost a pie or two, but I think we’ll live at the end of the day.”

Source: Bear tears through screen, breaks into Colorado Cherry Company building to eat blueberry pie – CBS Colorado

With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2

The Weight of Leadership

“A church can survive criticism, but it cannot thrive without integrity. When spiritual leaders forget they answer first to God, the flock always bears the…

Keep reading

Heaven is for Real Movie

“Heaven is for Real” is a faith-based family drama inspired by a Nebraska Pastor Tood Burpo’s best-selling book about his 4 years old son (Colton…

Keep reading

God’s Here

After losing his wife and son in a tragic accident, a firefighter wrestles with grief and forgiveness. Starring Kevin Sorbo (God’s Not Dead), Sarah Elizabeth…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Several dogs bitten by rattlesnakes in Colorado’s Westminster Hills Open Space as heat wave continues

Posted on by Leave a comment

According to NOAA, July was the hottest month ever recorded in the history of the U.S. Colorado experienced more than a dozen days over 90 degrees, and the hot temperatures are impacting the way people spend time outdoors.  That hot weather is contributing to an increase in the number of rattlesnakes spotted in popular open spaces.  For nature lovers and dog parents, Westminster Hills Open Space is a unique place, offering more than 3,000 acres of land, trails and grasslands. Westminster Hills Open Space  CBS “That’s part of what makes this space so special, is that it is a natural area,” said Erin Hennessey, a Westminster Park Ranger. “It’s not this little closed-in kind of gravelly area.” With it being a natural area, however, comes the potential to run into some of the area’s wildlife, including rattlesnakes.

“It is a scary thing. It does kind of make you think twice about, ‘Do I want to bring my dog here today?'” said Natalie Ericson. Over the weekend, three dogs were reportedly bitten by a rattlesnake inside the open space. Ericson was walking her two pitbulls inside the open space on Sunday when one of those incidents occurred. “I was looking up where the closest emergency vet was [and] trying to help him just figure out how to move his dog,” said Ericson. ‘What it comes down to is we did have a very dry winter, and so these snakes are out there looking for water. They’re just trying to survive like everybody else,” said Rachel Medley, Hospital Manager with Church Ranch Veterinary Center. “They’re going to be bolder and they’re going to be more out there.” Church Ranch Veterinary Center CBS Medley says they have seen roughly eight dogs at their veterinary center this year for rattlesnake bites, most of which were dogs who were using the open space.

However, she says these incidents can be prevalent anywhere where there could be a rattlesnake habitat. “Bites in the face and front legs are more concerning because those are defensive bites. That means the rattlesnake felt threatened. The dog was face to face with it, and so it’s going to release more venom into that bite,” she said. One pet parent shared photos of her dog, Tucker, who was one of the dogs that was bitten over the weekend. He was successfully treated for the bite at Church Ranch. “It’s a good idea to call that facility and ask them, ‘Do you have rattlesnake antivenom?'” said Medley. “You’ve got about 30 minutes to get somewhere where we have an IV catheter put in, and we’re giving those life-saving medications. So, you don’t want to pop around to all the clinics and go in and ask and then have to go somewhere else.” As more people and pets take advantage of open spaces like Westminster Hills Open Space, Medley recommends keeping your pets close and out of the brush as much as possible. “Staying in short grass and on the trails is the safest thing.

So, throwing the ball or the stick out into the long grass is where you’re going to get into more trouble,” she said. It’s also important to be mindful of the weather and how that could impact the presence of rattlesnakes in your path. “Seventy to 90 degrees is the temperature they’re most active. Above 90 degrees, you also want to watch out in the brush area, because again they’re trying to hide away from the sun,” said Hennessey. Westminster Park Ranger Erin Hennessey CBS “Just where you can see them and kind of keep a close eye on them because you just don’t know what’s out there,” said Ericson. If you or your pet is bitten by a rattlesnake, it is important not to try to remove the venom and remain calm, so that the venom does not spread through the body rapidly. “Just keep in mind, we are here in a state where wildlife and interaction with wildlife is a good thing.

We don’t want to portray that as a bad thing. Venomous snakes do have a really important place in the ecosystem, and so we don’t want to vilify that or look at that as a bad thing. We just want to figure out how we can safely coexist with them and know where we can get treatment if there is a negative interaction,” said Medley.

Source: Several dogs bitten by rattlesnakes in Colorado’s Westminster Hills Open Space as heat wave continues – CBS Colorado

As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
Psalm 18:30

Feeling Alone? God Sees You

Even when you feel invisible in your struggle, God sees every tear, every burden, and every silent prayer. Your exhaustion has not escaped His attention. “The Lord is close…

Keep reading

Jesus Revolution

In the 1970s, young Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney) is searching for all the right things in all the wrong places: until he meets Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie), a charismatic…

Keep reading

Letters to God

Tyler Doherty is an extraordinary eight-year-old boy armed with strong faith and courage as he faces his daily battle against cancer. Surrounded by a loving family and community, Tyler’s…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.