Crews have contained a grass fire that was threatening buildings near Ellicott in El Paso County…Crews are beginning to remove rock from US 50 west of Cotopaxi, and aim to have the highway reopen by the weekend…Army officials say President Barack Obama’s budget proposal includes $477 million for destroying obsolete chemical weapons stored in Colorado and Kentucky….and, Katie’s Law, a crime fighting tool that has raised privacy concerns has been fully implemented in Colorado.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(Image courtesy CDOT.)

An economic forecast released yesterday shows that higher than expected unemployment has pushed the state’s budget further into the red….Insurance companies estimate the so-called Fourmile Canyon Fire west of Boulder caused an estimated $217 million in damage…and, the US Olympic Committee has announced that the Warrior Games are scheduled to return to Colorado Springs next year.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Warm, dry weather is fueling the nearly 1,000 acre Resevior Fire burning west of Loveland…and, the last day for public comment on the draft environmental impact statement regarding the proposed “Over the River” art project is today, ending a 15-day extension issued by the Bureau of Land Management.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

As firefighters on the ground continue to battle the Fourmile Fire in Boulder County, they’re getting some help from the air. KRCC’s Ellen Mahoney caught up with crews flying slurry tankers, who are hoping to help contain the fire. She has this report.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

More than 1,000 evacuees from the Fourmile Fire near Boulder have been allowed to return to their homes today…and, the Army Corps of Engineers has extended by about four years the time it will take to study a $3 billion plan to pipe water from southwest Wyoming to Colorado.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Evacuees from the Fourmile Fire just west of downtown Boulder are still in limbo as they grapple with uncertainty, and in some cases must adjust to a new life without their homes or belongings. The fire has already destroyed more houses than any wildfire in Colorado history. Bente Birkeland has more form Boulder.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Note: Photo is NOT of the Fourmile Fire in Boulder County.

Evacuees from the Fourmile Canyon wildfire west of Boulder went streaming back into non-burn areas this morning to get essential belongings. But now high winds have forced officials to close those neighborhoods once again, and re-order a mandatory evacuation.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Rocky Mountain Community Radio sister station KGNU reports some Boulder residents are being told to prepare for possible evacuations in case the fire spreads, though it’s only a precautionary measure.

Click for more coverage of the Fourmile Fire from Rocky Mountain Community Radio sister stations KGNU and KUNC. The Boulder Daily Camera also has this list of updates.

Photos: Boulder air quality…the fire from Flagtaff Mountain…the road blocked to Sunshine Canyon…media staging area…and a series of shots showing an Erickson Air-Crane helicopter circling in to Wonderland Lake in Boulder to siphon 2500 gallons of water . The process takes about 45-seconds, and helicopters have been circling all day. Credit: Ellen Mahoney.

Fire officials say crews battling a blaze in Boulder County are watchful over other hazards such as rattlesnakes, downed power lines, and combustible propane tanks as they fight a wildfire that’s destroyed dozens of homes near Boulder…and, Colorado health officials say the state’s suicide rate for 2009 is the highest its been in 20 years.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Click for more coverage of the Fourmile Fire from Rocky Mountain Community Radio sister stations KGNU and KUNC. The Boulder Daily Camera also has this list of updates.

Firefighters continue fighting a blaze in Boulder County…Gubernatorial candidates issues statement…and the Colorado State Fair sets attendance record.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Governor Ritter and Democratic senators Udall and Bennet are urging the federal government to speed up plans to alleviate the bark beetle epidemic. As Bente Birkeland from the state capitol, state officials have invited the U.S. secretary of Agriculture to tour Colorado to see the problem first hand.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.