UPDATE, 9:45 p.m. U.S. Highway 550 reopened between Ridgway and Ouray Wednesday night, authorities announced at 9:15 p.m. Emergency officials encouraged motorists to be cautions when driving through a...

Heavy rainfall over scorched soil sent flash floods raging down Cutler Creek on Sunday night, spilling mud down through Ponderosa Village and briefly shuttering U.S. Highway 550. The torrent of water ...

It didn’t take but a spark and a stiff breeze to turn Justin Mitchell’s summer upside down. During the first few hours of the Gold Mountain Fire, Mitchell — who runs a horseback guiding outfit in the ...

Government agencies and nonprofit organizations have begun stepping up to help Ouray County pay to protect homes and roads from flooding and mudslides in the aftermath of the Gold Mountain Fire. The O...

Surveying a sprawling map of the northern San Juans last week, Mike Smith was deep in a geometry of fire. Fingers tracing fire lines and ridges, Smith – the current incident commander over Gold Mounta...

A joint wildfire mitigation effort to remove dead or diseased trees from the city of Ouray’s perimeter is expected to move forward next spring, though with a potentially more limited scope. Officials ...

Ouray City Administrator Michelle Metteer is overhauling the city’s community development department, dividing responsibilities among a third-party consultant and two city employees rather than consol...

A consultant has recommended that Ridgway reimagine its marketing campaign to bring outdoor enthusiasts, history buffs and regional explorers to town. The idea is to shift tourists’ perception away fr...

The 109th annual Ouray County Fair is scheduled to proceed as planned, even if the fairgrounds remain the headquarters for the Gold Mountain Fire operations. The fair is scheduled from Aug. 13-15 at t...

Ouray library to add outdoor drop box The Ouray Public Library will install a book return drop box outside the Ouray Community Center, allowing patrons to return items any time of day. The Ouray City ...

Ouray County commissioners indicated last week they are still interested in asking voters this fall to approve a use tax to raise money for road and bridge projects and emergency medical services. But...

A bill to transfer ownership of Crystal Reservoir to the city of Ouray took another step forward last week. The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources unanimously approved the bill. It ...

The Ouray City Council has approved a state-mandated set of building rules aimed at protecting new and remodeled homes against wildfire. Councilors voted 4-1 on July 6 to approve the Colorado Wildfire...

Ouray County officials changed the evacuation status for some areas on Wednesday, as firefighters gained more control of the Gold Mountain Fire. Zones 11, 12 and 13 were removed from pre-evacuation st...

Surveying a sprawling map of the northern San Juans on Wednesday, Mike Smith was deep in a geometry of fire. Fingers tracing fire lines and ridges, Smith – who assumed the role of incident commander o...

An experienced firefighting pilot who was pulling water from Silver Jack Reservoir to battle the Gold Mountain Fire died Sunday when his helicopter plunged into the reservoir northeast of Ridgway. Nic...

Hotshot Jesse Eaves calls it “The Great Race.” At the small tent city along U.S. Highway 550, Eaves starts each day with a 5 a.m. wakeup call. Thus begins an eight-minute sprint for him and his Califo...

Ouray County intends to hire an employee who can help lead the county’s efforts to recover from the Gold Mountain Fire — assuming it can find funding. County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously agree...

Ouray County is much closer to getting a new open space park on the Silver Mountain Mine property. The Trust for Land Restoration has received a $180,000 Great Outdoors Colorado grant. Couple that wit...

A former Ouray County man was sentenced Monday to one year of unsupervised probation for providing alcohol to a then-17-year-old girl who said she was sexually assaulted by two others at the former Ou...