Wildfire – The Durango Herald

Residents return home after fleeing Boulder wildfire

Nearly 20,000 people who were forced to flee a wildfire in northern Colorado were back home Monday after firefighters were able to stop the spread of the fire at 190 acres. The fire that bro...

DATE: Mar 28, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

As drought outlook takes shape, preparations begin for wildfire season in Southwest Colorado

Dry and warm weather projected this summer

DATE: Mar 28, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Colorado wildfire forces evacuation orders for 19,000 people

Evacuation orders cover 8,000 homes

DATE: Mar 26, 2022 | CATEGORY:

D&SNG to settle civil lawsuit filed by local landowners, businesses

Details have yet to be released as sides finalize agreement

DATE: Mar 22, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Durango railroad agrees to pay $20 million for 416 Fire damages

D&SNG also must make ‘substantial’ operational changes over the next 10 years

DATE: Mar 21, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Coloradans worried about water, wildfires and cost of living, new poll shows

Telephone and online interview polled 3,440 residents of eight Mountain West states

DATE: Feb 18, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Charges for Dane in Colorado wildfire will likely be dropped

DENVER (AP) — Criminal charges will probably be dropped against a mentally ill Danish man accused of starting a large 2018 Colorado wildfire, who can no longer be forcibly medicated, a prosecutor said Monday.

DATE: Feb 14, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

From local hot shot to a federal forest director, back to La Plata County

Shawna Legarza didn’t plan for a life of firefighting, but that’s what she found

DATE: Feb 14, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Deadly Colorado blaze renews focus on underground coal fires

DENVER – A fire raging in an underground Colorado coal field in 1883 sent so much smoke pouring from cracks in the ground that the scene was likened to burning volcanoes and the state’s firs...

DATE: Jan 31, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Bone fragments found in search for woman missing in wildfire

DENVER – Investigators are working to determine whether some small bone fragments found during the search for a 91-year-old woman who tried to save her dogs from a wildfire that destroyed mo...

DATE: Jan 19, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Biden surveys Colorado wildfire damage, comforts victims

‘You will get through this and you’ll be stronger for it,’ says president

DATE: Jan 7, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Human remains found in Marshall Fire investigation

Two people have been reported missing; investigators continue to search

DATE: Jan 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Photos: Parade launches 2024 Connie Mack World Series in FarmingtonFans line street as players march on Main Damp, overcast weather cooled off the crowd lining Main Street on Friday morning for the 2024 Connie Mack World Series Parade. The hourlong parade began shortly after 10 a.m. in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Fans line street as players march on Main

Photos: ‘Mini Takes the States’ tour stops in DurangoHundreds of Mini Cooper vehicles occupy Fort Lewis College on Sunday; Participants began the journey in Albuquerque and will finish in Seattle

Hundreds of Mini Cooper vehicles occupy Fort Lewis College on Sunday; Participants began the journey in Albuquerque and will finish in Seattle

Photos: Boxing returns to DurangoAnimus on the Animas: 1st Annual Durango Boxing Classic at the Durango Main Mall on Saturday

Animus on the Animas: 1st Annual Durango Boxing Classic at the Durango Main Mall on Saturday

Photos and video: Going for the gold by devouring piesContestants try their best to win the Oscar’s Pie Eating Contest on Friday in Durango

Contestants try their best to win the Oscar’s Pie Eating Contest on Friday in Durango

Photo: Fireworks light the sky in DurangoDurango celebrates Independence Day on Thursday night

Durango celebrates Independence Day on Thursday night

Photos: Working with woodLocal craftsman uses wood joinery, rather than nails or screws to construct homes and other structures

Local craftsman uses wood joinery, rather than nails or screws to construct homes and other structures

2024 Fourth of July Parade draws crowd Thursday in downtown Durango

Photos: Downtown Durango hosts Fourth of July ParadeDowntown sidewalks were full for Thursday’s celebration

Downtown sidewalks were full for Thursday’s celebration

Durango Rotary Club, Parks and Recreation department host Independence Day events

Law enforcement conducts active threat training at Park Elementary SchoolResidents may see and hear police activity Thursday and Friday

Law enforcement agencies across Southwest Colorado sent officers to participate in active threat training this week at Park Elementary School in Durango. Those in the neighborhood can expect police vehicles parked on the premises, officers in tactical gear conducting exercises inside and outside the school, and signs advising that training is in progress. The sounds of shouting, airsoft weapons and the popping of a starter pistol will also be audible near the school, said Karla Sluis, spokeswoman for Durango School District 9-R.Sluis said that members of the school district’s safety department have gone door-to-door with flyers notifying residents around Park Elementary School about the training.

Hosted by the Durango Police Department and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, this week’s voluntary training invited officers from law enforcement agencies across a five-county region of Southwest Colorado encompassing La Plata, Archuleta, San Juan, Montezuma and Dolores counties.

La Plata County Sheriff’s Office deputy Durango Police Department Deputy Mike Latham, lead instructor for this week's training, said Wednesday and the first half of Thursday were mostly preparatory, teaching officers the school’s layout and devising scenarios, whereas the latter half of Thursday and Friday residents should anticipate some noise as active threat scenarios play out.

Latham said active threat training teaches officers proper protocol during active threat scenarios, especially in densely populated areas where they have become increasingly common.Park Elementary School is not the only Durango School District facility law enforcement has conducted active threat training. Latham said schools lend themselves well to this sort of training because, “It gives us all kinds of doors to work on, different rooms, different scenarios we can run. We can pretend it’s a mall with nice big corridors, we can even pretend it’s an outdoor area in the gymnasium.”Latham has participated in active threat training multiple times in the past and described the drills as exhilarating and nerve-wracking. He said one of the training’s main goals is teaching officers how to manage stress and remain calm with lives on the line.

“I take a pulse oximeter in the morning and get a baseline on their heart rates,” Latham said. “And sometimes, just before they’re about to engage a threat, I say ‘Timeout.’ Put it (the oximeter) on there, and their heart rate’s skyrocketed to 140, 150, 160 just in training.”

Latham said throughout his career active threat training has evolved to become safer for officers and fall in line with increasingly professional police standards.“When I first started we were just running into halls and rooms hoping for the best,” Latham said. “Now the tactic is still to get there, still stop the taking of lives, but tactics are much better than they were 20 years ago.”

Residents may see and hear police activity Thursday and Friday

Residents return home after fleeing Boulder wildfire

As drought outlook takes shape, preparations begin for wildfire season in Southwest Colorado

Colorado wildfire forces evacuation orders for 19,000 people

D&SNG to settle civil lawsuit filed by local landowners, businesses

Durango railroad agrees to pay $20 million for 416 Fire damages

Coloradans worried about water, wildfires and cost of living, new poll shows

Charges for Dane in Colorado wildfire will likely be dropped

From local hot shot to a federal forest director, back to La Plata County

Deadly Colorado blaze renews focus on underground coal fires

Bone fragments found in search for woman missing in wildfire

Biden surveys Colorado wildfire damage, comforts victims

Human remains found in Marshall Fire investigation

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