ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — An Aspen-area airport says 34 percent of its scheduled flights earlier this month were cancelled or diverted due to a wildfire near Basalt.
The Aspen Daily News reports temporary flight restrictions were put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this month to due to a need for more firefighting planes to put out the Lake Christine Fire.
The flight restrictions closed the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport to all flights within the firefighting path from 9 a.m. to 9:15 p.m.
Aviation Director John Kinney says one-third of scheduled flights between July 4 and July 22 were cancelled or diverted.
He expects the local economy will be impacted by the cancelled and diverted flights since they occurred during a critical time for tourism in the area.