Author: KRDO

Bradley Davis

GREEN MOUNTAIN FALLS, Colo. (KRDO) – Every summer, Green Mountain Falls attracts some of the top installation artists from around the world for the annual Green Box Arts Festival.

It’s perhaps the best-kept “secret” along Highway 24. The town of less than 700 people boasts an incredible art-to-person ratio, with 11 permanent public installations and hundreds more erected throughout the festival’s 18-year history.

Through Green Box, Green Mountain Falls is home to world-renowned art like James Turrell’s Skyspace, Richard Serra’s Schulhof’s Curve, Brian Wall’s Skye and more. You can find a list of all Green Box’s current and past exhibits on their website.

The festival ends on July 19. Until then, Green Box hosts a packed calendar of events in Green Mountain Falls from guided art walks to professional ballet performances to outdoor Zumba and more. You can find the full calendar on their website.

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Scott Harrison

FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — In addition to restricted access through the Highway 67 checkpoint south of Florence for the ongoing Aspen Acres wildfire, drivers also must adjust to occasional changes in the checkpoint’s location.

When authorities placed the ten-mile stretch between Florence and Highway 69 in Custer County on pre-evacuation status last Thursday, the checkpoint was located at the Highway 67/County Road 15 intersection — but it was removed later that morning in favor of the larger checkpoint at the Highway 67/Highway 69 intersection.

→ Follow KRDO’s continuous coverage of the “Aspen Acres” wildfire here

However, when southern Fremont County switched to a mandatory evacuation on Sunday night, the checkpoint was established closer to Florence, at the Highway 67/County Road 100 intersection.

County Road 100 was the northern boundary of the evacuation zone, and drivers were allowed to turn there and proceed west.

Just before noon on Monday, the checkpoint moved south to the Highway 67/County Road 15 intersection.

And on Tuesday morning, a KRDO crew arrived to find that the checkpoint had moved back to the Highway 67/County Road 100 intersection — and the National Guard said that County Road 100 is now closed.

Colorado National Guard personnel manning the checkpoint said that they are not told why certain roads are closed; they are only responsible for managing checkpoints requested by local authorities.

The current checkpoint location may make it more difficult for drivers of large vehicles to turn around.

Traffic was fairly steady at the checkpoint on Monday as the National Guard tried to determine who had clearance to enter the evacuation zone; many drivers were evacuees hoping to check on livestock or other property concerns because they didn’t have time to do so when the mandatory evacuation began.

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Michael Logerwell

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – Tonight, the public got to hear firsthand from the fire management team working the “Aspen Acres” fire.

→ Stay informed on the “Aspen Acres” wildfire here with links to live evacuation maps and the latest coverage from KRDO

The meeting started at 7:00 p.m. at Centennial High School in Pueblo and was held by the Alaska Complex Incident Management Team.

You can find a recording of the meeting here.

While the meeting was informative, it didn’t do anything to calm the frayed nerves of those forced to evacuate by the “Aspen Acres” fire.

“I never dreamed in a million years I’d see a fire of this magnitude so close to Rye, endangering so many properties and homes,” Duane Fink, a long-time Rye resident said.

Speaking at the meeting was a meteorologist, fire fuel expert and strategist, all part of the Alaskan management team. Plus the Pueblo County Sheriff, members of the U.S. Forest Service and a spokesperson for the local energy cooperative.

Several residents who spoke to KRDO13 said they were upset with some of the news that was shared at the meeting. A major point that was hammered home was how big and dangerous the “Aspen Acres” fire truly is.

“It’s not going to be the same there. You know, especially if my properties burn, it won’t ever be the same. You know,” Fink paused, “One place was my brother’s. The other was my dad’s. So, yeah, it’s a legacy, is what it is. It ain’t just land.”

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Bradley Davis

FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – Unlike its neighbors, Williamsburg was not under pre-evacuation orders Sunday night.

→ Full coverage on the Aspen Acres wildfire, including links to the latest evacuation maps

“It was scary. I was sitting on the recliner just eating ice cream, playing with the dog, and all the sudden, his phone is ringing, telling us to evacuate immediately. And we’re just kind of like, ‘Are you sure?'” Williamsburg resident Pamela Fleener said.

Fleener and her partner, Alex Aguirre, received the call just after 8 p.m. Sunday night that they were to evacuate immediately.

“We listened to it multiple times to make sure,” Aguirre said.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office ordered its first mandatory evacuations on Sunday in response to the “Aspen Acres” fire after the flames made a strong push north. The “Aspen Acres” fire Incident Command said strong winds from a passing thunderstorm stoked the fire in Fremont County’s direction.

“No, yeah, we weren’t ready,” Fleener said.

Fleener and Aguirre joined their evacuated neighbors from Coal Creek, Rockvale and the surrounding communities at the Red Cross Wildfire Shelter at Pathfinder Park in Florence.

“It’s been hectic. We slept in the truck. It was hot and cramped, but we’re safe,” Fleener said.

Fleener and Aguirre said they had to leave a lot behind in their haste, but they made it out with what mattered most.

“A puppy and three kittens,” Aguirre said.

“That’s a handful!” KRDO13’s Bradley Davis said.

“Ohhh yeah,” Aguirre said, while chuckling.

The “Aspen Acres” fire grew to over 91,000 acres Sunday night. It’s the seventh-largest wildfire in Colorado’s history. The acreage growth dropped the containment from 14% to 12%.

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Scott Harrison

FREMONT COUNTY, Colo, (KRDO) — Despite fire crews increasing containment from zero to 14% in the “Aspen Acres” fire over the weekend, the intensity of flames on the north side of the burn zone raised the risk to residents north of the Custer/Fremont County line.

→ Find the latest information from KRDO on the Aspen Acres wildfire here

As a result, authorities elevated the status from pre-evacuation to mandatory evacuation late Sunday along ten miles of Highway 67 from just south of Florence in Fremont County to the junction of Highway 96, near Wetmore in Custer County.

Flames were visible in the distance before dawn Monday from the newest checkpoint on Highway 67 at the County Road 100 intersection.

Just before noon, National Guard personnel moved the checkpoint farther south to the County Road 15 intersection — where the previous checkpoint had been when the area had been on pre-evacuation status last Thursday.

“We got the mandatory evacuation order around 8 Sunday night,” said evacuee Dave Smith. “It was a bit surprising, but we were prepared for it. It’s a mess, but it happens.”

Many evacuees evacuated so suddenly that they didn’t have time to transport or tend to livestock, and when they tried to return on Monday morning, they weren’t allowed in unless they had prior approval.

Smith was unable to return because he lives within the evacuation zone, but a neighbor, Bill Enoch, was allowed to come back because he lives on the zone’s northern border along County Road 100.

“I know a lot of people,” he explained. “But I’m not too concerned on how it’s going. If I get in, I get in. If I don’t, I don’t.”

A local couple returned from a weeklong trip out of town to learn of the evacuation; they had to wait at least 30 minutes to get a state trooper to escort them to their property.

Other evacuees tried to be more patient and understanding.

“I’m not frustrated,” said Dave Falske. “I know everybody’s doing the best they can –the military, the police, me — just trying to hang on. But we do have stock up there, and I need to get them fed one way or the other.”

A factor in the change to a mandatory evacuation was an increase in the fire’s intensity Sunday, when strong winds from a passing thunderstorm pushed flames dangerously close to Wetmore.

Authorities used bulldozers to create fire breaks to protect homes and other structures before winds died down.

It’s the second time since Thursday that crews scrambled to keep the fire out of Wetmore.

More resources also were needed on the east side of the fire, near Siloam Road, north of Highway 78; in the Beulah area, which has been constantly threatened; and southwest of Colorado City and Rye, into Huerfano County.

Some of the latter areas are in either pre-evacuation or mandatory evacuation status.

Around 1,100 firefighters from across the county are fighting the “Aspen Acres” fire.

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Scott Harrison

PUEBLO & CUSTER COUNTIES, Colo. (KRDO) — KRDO 13 has a crew in southern Pueblo County to provide an update on the Aspen Acres wildfire, which has burned nearly 87,000 acres.

For the first time, authorities report some containment — 6% late Saturday night, and up to 13% as of 7 a.m. Sunday.

→ Most up to date coverage on the Aspen Acres wildfire, including links to the latest evacuation maps

Fire crews made the first containment on the east side of the burn zone, near Highway 78.

The checkpoint on Highway 165 has been moved east from Crow Cutoff and is now at the Interstate 25 interchange.

Businesses on both sides of the interchange were closed — including two gas stations — as is the rest area.

Many drivers through the area are vacationers unaware of the fire and disappointed at being unable to turn east onto Highway 165.

Members of the Colorado National Guard are now manning the checkpoints at road closures to release state troopers and Pueblo County deputies for other duties.

Smoke is thick in the fire zone as of 8 a.m. Sunday.

KRDO 13 spoke with a Rye resident who evacuated on Tuesday and said that his home still stands.

More than 800 personnel from across the country are fighting the fire in Pueblo and Custer counties, while southern Fremont County remains on pre-evacuation status and a segment of the north end of Huerfano County, near Colorado City, remains on mandatory evacuation.

KRDO will continue to provide updates as they become available.

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Bradley Davis

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) – The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has lifted an evacuation for homes between both the North and South intersections of Jordan Road and Old Pueblo Road in Fountain.

Officials sent the evacuation notice over Peak Alerts. It is now safe to return to the area.

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Michael Logerwell

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – For days, firefighters from all over the country have been working to protect people and structures put at risk by the Aspen Acres Fire.

“There’s not really a way to explain very simply how humbling extreme wildfire behavior can be,” Nicholai Allen, a wildlands firefighter, told KRDO13 over a Zoom Video Call on Friday.

→ Find the most up to date information on the Aspen Acres wildfire here

Allen would be the one to know. He has firsthand experience as a wildland firefighter. Allen was part of a squad designated to protect homes in the Palisades fire that burned up parts of California in 2025.

He says it’s a cumulation of factors that make fighting an extreme wildfire like the Aspen Acres Fire challenging.

“It’s not just the direct fire front. It’s the low visibility, the toxic smoke in the air, ” Allen said. “I would say that it is the most uncomfortable, always on super high adrenaline, job that I’ve ever done.” Even without the fire, Allen points out that hiking through a rugged mountainous region in high wind conditions with all the fire gear would be challenging.

Added on top of that is the long hours. Fires don’t take breaks, and Allen says it’s not uncommon for wildland firefighters to work shifts of 24 hours or longer.

“I’d usually eat, like, only one time a day, maybe some snacks here and there, as it’s allowed. But very often when you get into it and if you’re doing structure triage and trying to, help people evacuate and save homes, you’re not really thinking about eating at all, or sleeping,” Allen said.

Surprisingly, Allen says he hasn’t found it too difficult to sleep because the work of a wildland firefighter is so exhausting. Every wildland fire is different, but Allen says typically a trailer is brought in to a safe zone further away from the front line where firefighters can sleep in their off-shift.

When not fighting fires, Allen says he works to educate homeowners on how to keep their homes fire safe. He encourages mitigation work around the home and warns that it’s not always the big wall fire that will ignite your property. It can be small embers that float into your home.

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Heather Skold

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The song, “America the Beautiful,” is woven into the fabric of our very patriotism in the United States: its imagery, its faith, its call for oneness. 

Written in 1893 by the poet and English professor Katharine Lee Bates, it expresses gratitude while also being aspirational. 

Katharine Lee Bates, Courtesy of Regional History & Genealogy, Pikes Peak Library District, 102-354

Bates was born shortly before the Civil War started, and thus, many of her writings focused on social reform.  

A professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Bates decided to venture west to teach for the summer at Colorado College.

“This was a business trip, where she spent several weeks in Colorado Springs,” said Matt Mayberry, Director of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, outside which Bates’ iron statue sits, facing Pikes Peak. “She thinks as a poet, and she processes her reality as a poet. Her travels west inspired her and became part of the poem.”

Bates had never been west of Philadelphia at that point in her life, but her travels by train created inspiration: patriotism on display at the World’s Fair in Chicago, the prairies of Kansas, and the “sublimity of the Rockies.”

“It was with this quickened and deepened sense of America that we went on, my New England eyes delighting in the wind-waved gold of the vast wheat fields,” she wrote, in an article published in a 1928 edition of the Gazette and Telegraph. 

Colorado Springs Gazette and Telegraph, Dec. 30, 1928

She and her colleagues were shown Manitou Springs, Cascade, and Garden of the Gods — “all so marvelous that our stock of exclamations ran out.”

One day, she and her teacher friends ventured up Pikes Peak, via “prairie schooner,” pulled by horses that were traded out with mules halfway. 

Once at the top, they were advised against jumping out of the wagon, but instead “descend leisurely” due to the altitude, a warning that befell their guide, who himself fainted at the summit and curtailed their visit to 30 minutes. 

The brief view at 14,115 feet was enough to bring a sense of awe to Bates, who wrote of its “purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.”

That night, upon returning to the Antlers Hotel, Bates wrote the first lines of her poem.  She made several revisions to her poem before its final version as we know it today.  

Antlers Hotel, Courtesy of Regional History & Genealogy, Pikes Peak Library District, 102-354

“It is not stuck in time, and can be meaningful to us today,” said Mayberry. 

Her words were set to the hymn, Materna, which was composed Samuel Ward.

Here is a 1923 recording of “America the Beautiful.”  Public Domain.

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Bradley Davis

FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — On a Friday in June above Fremont County, the bluebird skies stretch for as far as the eye can see. Except for one, small splash of color.

“Oh, I see him!” Barbara King said while looking up at a parachuting figure.

At this distance, it’s impossible to see who.

“That’s Harry!” Baraba said.

Well, she knows who she’s looking for.

“It’s his first time being 90 years old,” King said.

It’s her husband’s birthday. Harry King has waited 90 years for this 40 seconds of free fall, but he’s not the one in the group checking an item off his bucket.

“I told Pastor John, and I said, ‘You won’t believe the adrenaline rush on this,'” King said. “He said, ‘I’d like to do that.’ That was his mistake.”

His pastor is also one of his best friends, and Pastor John was more than a little nervous to join Harry in the air for the first time.

“That’s what happens when you pastor a church full of heroes,” Pastor John said.

“I jumped as many times as I could when I was in the Army,” Harry said.

Jumping in Fremont County is easy when you’ve already jumped behind enemy lines.

“I did 107 jumps in the Army, and two of them were combat jumps. I didn’t count on them, but that happened when I was in Vietnam, so,” Harry said.

On his 90th birthday, Harry finds himself surrounded. But only by friends.

“I can’t believe so many showed up,” Harry said.

That’s how the small blip in an endless sky can become the center of the world. The center of Barbara’s world.

“You did it, sweetie!”

The two embrace for a long moment after Harry’s smooth landing.

“Oh, I love you,” Harry said.

I love you, too.”

The skies might carry his spirit, but the ground holds his heart.

“I love you, darling,” Harry said again.

It’s another safe landing for Harry. He’s just missing one thing.

“Well, thank you, Dee. I feel naked without my cap!” Harry said as his friend returned his Vietnam Veteran hat to him.

It’s another small gesture that made Harry’s smile brighter than any bluebird sky.

“I’m glad I did it, babe,” Barbara said to Harry.

“I’m glad I did it too.”

Harry is not done yet. He said he hopes to plan another skydiving trip for his 95th birthday.

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