Wildfire - The Durango Herald

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad rolls again

Harper: ‘It has been the toughest summer you can imagine’

DATE: Sep 22, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Monsoon season in Southwest Colorado fails to deliver

High-pressure system blocked moisture through the summer

DATE: Sep 22, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Forest Service completes prescribed burns near Bayfield

Interior could burn a few more days

DATE: Sep 19, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

BLM to use less disruptive method for wild horse roundups

Bait trapping is the tactic preferred by public

DATE: Sep 17, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Bull Draw Fire grows 400 acres; more robust team takes command

The Bull Draw Fire has grown about 400 acres in the past week and continues to produce smoke visible on the Western Slope. At 7 a.m. Sunday, fire management officers from the Gran...

DATE: Sep 16, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Firefighters contain wildland fire in western La Plata County

Blaze grew to about 6 acres

DATE: Sep 15, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

What’s next in 416 Fire burn area? Look to Missionary Ridge

With time and patience, forest will return, but it will be different

DATE: Sep 15, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

BLM makes decision on wild horse roundups

Bait trapping is the method preferred by public

DATE: Sep 14, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Wildland fire burns several acres in western La Plata County

Blaze started in 9000 block of County Road 136; cause unknown

DATE: Sep 14, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Lessons from Missionary Ridge Fire apply to 416 burn area

Biologist says we must manage ‘for the fire we want’

DATE: Sep 13, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Fire near Steamboat Springs flares up in hot, dry conditions

DENVER – The fire danger is high again in Western Colorado, where hot and dry conditions have led to a wildfire burning near Steamboat Springs since mid-July to flare up. Routt Na...

DATE: Sep 13, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Closures issued around the Horse Fire have been lifted

Blaze is 90 percent contained

DATE: Sep 10, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Colorado history gets weird, wild, wacky at Fashion Do’s and Don’tsAnnual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Cowboys. Fancy ladies. Gold miners. Even-toed ungulates that some in Durango might consider more like rats.Where can you find a runway show that takes you on a whirlwind tour through the weird, wacky and wildly exaggerated 150 years of Colorado history? Only at Durango’s annual Fashion Do’s and Don’ts, held Wednesday, where models and audience members wore costumes celebrating Colorado’s sesquicentennial – the theme of this year’s two-week Snowdown celebration.Standout acts included the Ghosts of Durango, which featured four of Durango’s most famous ghosts: a Rochester hotel ghost in a Victorian get-up of a more “modern” variation; the Strater Hotel’s head of housekeeping, also head of more discreet services; a young girl haunting El Rancho’s bathroom; and Sheriff Bob Thompson, killed in a 1906 gunfight. according to emcee Suzan Lane. A Another act was the Secret Circus Society, featuring Rubi Starr, Jeni Gross, Tabatha Joy Bettin, Adrienne Young and Ethan Deffenbaugh dressed as a car and the roadside pests better known as deer. Group members said the inspiration for the costume came from lived experiences driving Durango roads. The two-person Cantine Couture act starred Leslie Ponce and Tyler Frakes in an homage to the plentiful variety of Mexican restaurants found in any Colorado town. Ponce, dressed in comically large Mexican pointy cowboy boots, ambled down the runway as if taking a stroll under the hot, dusty, high-altitude sun, while Frakes flitted about the stage in a bright yellow salsa dress. Ponce said this year’s costume had been tough to decide, but the final decision was inspired by TikTok videos of Mexican cowboys in pointy boots. This was the duo’s third year strutting down the runway. Why they keep coming back for more, Frakes said laughing, was, “for the fame, the glory and the attention.”

Fashion Do’s and Don’ts has been one of the most highly anticipated Snowdown events since its inception in the 1990s. It has more than doubled in size over the past several decades. Last year, there were a record number of models, and in order to keep the event at a manageable size, this year’s fashion show was the first one to require the acts to audition. But many of the models were unfazed by the change. “It was actually easy,” said Jodi Zuber, one part of the two-person duo that made up the 1950s Texas Invader Ski Couple. Her partner-in-costume, Danny Jaques, said they had been doing this for several years, and it’s good with everything going on in the world to “get some levity and let your hair down.” The performers were not the only ones in costume. Audience members also dressed in a wide variety of unique takes on what makes Colorado, Colorado. JonBenet Ramsey made a miraculous appearance, being played by an 82-year-old woman, as did Casa Bonita, an ensemble that included a taco, sopaipilla and gorilla in chains – to name some of the characters. By the end of the show, people were in high spirits, as usual. “It was just delightful,” said a first-time audience member. If blessed with the chance to get the much coveted tickets – he said he would jump on it. jbowman@durangoherald.com

Annual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Photos: Snowdown 2026 Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Durango High School basketball teams lose to Montrose High School

Photos: Local girls high school wrestling at La Plata TriDurango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Durango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Photos: Fort Lewis College women’s and men’s basketball take on Westminster UniversityBoth Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Both Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Photos: An afternoon in 2004 with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell as he works on Capitol HillDurango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Durango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Photos and video: ICE protests return to DurangoAbout a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

About a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

The Durango Herald’s year in photos 2025

Photos: Chapman Hill fires up the snow guns

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad rolls again

Monsoon season in Southwest Colorado fails to deliver

Forest Service completes prescribed burns near Bayfield

BLM to use less disruptive method for wild horse roundups

Bull Draw Fire grows 400 acres; more robust team takes command

Firefighters contain wildland fire in western La Plata County

What’s next in 416 Fire burn area? Look to Missionary Ridge

BLM makes decision on wild horse roundups

Wildland fire burns several acres in western La Plata County

Lessons from Missionary Ridge Fire apply to 416 burn area

Fire near Steamboat Springs flares up in hot, dry conditions

Closures issued around the Horse Fire have been lifted

Videos & Photos

Search Directory Plus

Most Popular

Most Recent

Ballantine Communications, Inc.

Contact Us

Find Us