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...

July 21, 1966 Discussions under way for a period of two months took shape this week in the filing of articles of incorporation for the Ouray College Association. Named as the board of trustees in the ...

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...

I'm not a Jeep enthusiast or an off-highway vehicle user, but I am a hiker and photographer who cares deeply about our high-country environment. After recent discussions at county commissioners' meeti...

When Heather Toth moved to Ouray County in 2013, her first question was, “Where’s the theater; where’s the art space?” The arts are a necessity, not a luxury, according to Toth. She values third space...

The “Good For You!” page is a place for reader-submitted photos illustrating community, celebrations and more. Want to submit a photo for publication? Here are some guidelines for submissions: - This ...

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...

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correctly indicate the change in the team overseeing the fire response. The pilot who died when his aircraft went down in Silver Jack Reservoir Sunday was...

An aircraft fighting the Gold Mountain Fire went down in Silver Jack Reservoir in southwestern Gunnison County on Sunday night and the body of the pilot has been recovered from the crash. One person w...

Residents forced to flee the Gold Mountain Fire north of Ouray nearly two weeks ago returned to charred landscapes but fully intact homes Wednesday, an indication that authorities believe the threat h...

A scaled-back Fourth of July celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States and 150th birthday of Ouray attracted thousands to the city, despite the cancellation of fireworks, water fights and...

Even though the Gold Mountain Fire is still burning, Ouray County officials are already thinking about flash flood risks in the burn scar as Colorado moves into monsoon season. “This is a predictable ...

Water managers in Ouray County are asking residents to curtail water use and avoid putting more demand on their distribution systems in light of the Gold Mountain Fire and ongoing tinder-dry condition...