BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. The Boulder County Sheriffs Office is seeking the publics help in connection with a road rage shooting involving three motorcyclists.

The shooting happened Saturday around 5:30 p.m. in the 3800 to 6000 block of Flagstaff Road and later led a police pursuit.

The sheriffs office said the male victim showed up at a Boulder fire station and told police he had been shot at.

The victim was not hit by gunfire.

While officers were interviewing the victim at Boulder Fire Rescue Station 2, located at Broadway and Baseline Road, the sheriffs office said the three suspects on motorcycles drove by the station.

Officers attempted to stop the motorcycles, but the suspects fled eastbound on US 36, leading to a multi-agency pursuit through Superior and Broomfield.

The motorcyclists ultimately evaded law enforcement near Flatirons Mall.

The Sheriffs Office is asking for the publics help to identify the three motorcycle operators and a vehicle of interest.

Before the shooting, the motorcyclists were observed meeting with the driver of the vehicle of interest at Panorama Point, near the 1000 block of Flagstaff Road.

If you have information about these suspects or vehicle of interest, please contact the Boulder County Sheriffs Office tip line at: BCSOtips@bouldercounty.gov or 303-441-3674. The case number is 25-04867.

Editor's Note:

BOULDER, Colo. The front lawn of the Boulder County Courthouse was filled with cheers, music, and personal stories Friday as local leaders and community members gathered to celebrate a moment nearly 50 years in the making.

The courthouse, long recognized as a symbol of equality and courage, was officially designated a national historic landmark for its role in LGBTQ+ history.

In 1975, Boulder County Clerk Clela Rorex issued the nations first same-sex marriage license, years before such unions were legalized nationwide.

In 1975, Court Clerk Clela Rorex did something unprecedented by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, said Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick. When we honor where history happened, we continually reaffirm the rights and experiences of everyone in our community.

Fridays event drew people of all ages, including students like Char Orr from New Vista High School. Orr said the large turnout offered a powerful reminder that allies continue to stand with the LGBTQ+ community.

Its really comforting, especially as times are getting worse, to know that there are allies, like there have historically been allies, and theyre still there, Orr said. Often, we kind of forget about history. So, it's nice to see people caring about it.

For one couple, the celebration became even more personal. Arvada residents Alex Hermann and Addison Watts got engaged on the courthouse lawn during the event.

"I asked her to marry me, and she said yes," Hermann said.

Watts, who had hoped for a proposal but wasnt sure when it would happen, called the moment perfect. The couple said they feel especially grateful to call Colorado home.

Im very, very proud to say that I live in Colorado and plan to live here for a long time, Watts said.

Hermann added that they hope to start a family and grow in a place where they feel safe, accepted, and supported.

With the Pride flag now raised over Pearl Street, Fitzpatrick said the event not only honors Boulder Countys history but also serves as a call to continue the work of equality.

Theres still a lot of work to do, and we have to keep inspiring future generations, she said. Celebrations like today are an important part of that.

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. On Tuesday, the Board of Boulder County Commissioners approved amendments to the land use code to allow for mobile farm stands.

The proposal dates back to the 2023 Farm Stand Pilot Project, which explored the feasibility of pre-approved farm stand building designs "as a means of addressing the associated financial and time constraints that local agricultural producers face in navigating the building permit process."

The project was authorized by Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann.

"Farmers came to us, and they wanted a more cost-effective solution on being able to provide their great produce and meats and things like that to the community," Stolzmann explained. "And the problem was, building a farm stand was super expensive. We had ADA accessibility requirements. We had sprinkling requirements. All these things were adding up costs, so over $20,000 just to build a farm stand."

Then, Stolzmann said they tried to craft pre-approved farm stands that would not have to go through the planning and zoning process for farmers.

"We started down that process, and we found even that was going to be too expensive with the feedback from the farmers," Stolzmann said.

Between farmers and Boulder County staff, they hatched a new idea: mobile farm stands.

"Imagine like a food truck for a farm stand," Stolzmann said. "Everybody can imagine a farm stand, right? But we needed to modernize that so that it would meet accessibility requirements. It would meet modern requirements about transportation and traffic and all of those types of modern headaches we have, but still provide that great benefit of the community getting to be in touch with their local farmer."

The mobile farm stands are allowed in areas that are zoned for agriculture.

One of the Boulder County farmers who supports this change is Helen Skiba, the owner of Artemis Flower Farm in Longmont. The flower farm is part of the Treehouse Farm Collective, a group of farms that share the land and infrastructure, allowing for a variety of produce and goods to be sold from their farm stand.

Skiba said the amendments to the land use code will essentially allow farmers to sell their goods on their property. Artemis Flower Farm was fortunate their land is private property, not owned by the county, and already had a farm stand structure installed.

Still, Skiba said they may also capitalize on a mobile farm stand.

"It's very possible that we will, just because our property, it's actually hard for people to find our farm stand because it's way at the back of the property, where we have the electricity and the cooling that we need for our produce," Skiba explained.

Skiba said the change in code will help support farmers, which is critical in an industry that is already challenging.

"All of the inputs that go into it, all of the labor that goes into it, it makes it a business that has really small, really thin margins," Skiba said. "The more that we can cut out the distance between ourselves and our customers the better we are able to make a living, support the people we employ, support the food system that we're in, and get fresh, good, really nutrient-dense produce to the people who need it in our community."

The mobile food stands will also foster relationships between consumers and farmers, according to Skiba.

"They get to know the farms, the landscape, all of the work that it takes to support our ecosystem and the health of the land. People get to see that happening when they come to a farm stand," Skiba said.

When asked how it feels to see Boulder County make such a change, Skiba summed it up in one word: pride.

"I feel proud to be part of a community that really does support its farmers," she said.

DENVER Attorneys representing hundreds of Marshall Fire victims have accused Xcel Energy of concealing photos that reportedly show the company's equipment near the fire's origin.

A mass action lawsuit was filed in June 2023 accusing the energy company of sparking the most destructive fire in Colorado history. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office concluded that a disconnected Xcel Energy power line played a role in the fire's origin, but Xcel has repeatedly denied those claims.

Attorneys representing Marshall Fire victims filed a motion on Dec. 6 asking the court to compel Xcel to turn over 17,500 documents, including 3,853 photographs created two weeks after the fire.

Read the full motion below:

After the Marshall Fire, Xcel sent out its claims investigator, and this individual went to the scene, took photographs, documented evidence. And then afterward, Xcel repaired the lines at issue. Now what we want is show us what was happening that day, said Ali Moghaddas, an attorney with Edelson PC. Show us the evidence before you went in and changed the scene because that's going to be instrumental in proving their liability.

Xcel Energy said the documents are being withheld due to attorney-client privilege. A company spokesperson said they plan to fully respond to the motion in the coming weeks.

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. An Aurora contractor accused of stealing more than $1 million from four families whose homes were lost or damaged in the Marshall Fire in unincorporated Boulder County pleaded guilty on Tuesday and agreed to pay more than $1 million in restitution.

Leona Scott was accused of accepting more than $1.3 million from the property owners but not completing the construction work.

He entered into a separate contract with each of the four families, took their money, but did not use their money as intended, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. In addition, he was not properly licensed to build homes in Boulder County.

Scott was arrested for theft, a Class 2 felony because the value was $1 million or more. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday to theft, a Class 3 felony, according to the Boulder County District Attorney's Office.

The court will determine if Scott will face any prison time or probation. However, the DA's office said Scott agreed to pay $1,738,770.05 in restitution.

This defendant preyed upon, and took advantage of, people who were directly impacted by the Marshall Fire. His theft made their suffering worse, at a time when they needed help the most. So, I really appreciate the work of the Sheriffs Office and the prosecution team in securing this felony conviction and restitution. We will have an additional statement after the Court imposes the sentence," Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a statement.

Some people living in Coal Creek Canyon are calling on Boulder County commissioners to say "No" to a marijuana processing and retail facility coming to the middle of the forest.

"This area is not set up for it. We don't have the resources and the infrastructure to support it. It's an inconsistent use of the land when it's nestled among a bunch of residential houses," said Keith Duff, living about a quarter of a mile away from the proposed site.

The business would take over the Eldora Lodge, built in 1963 and used as a hotel for decades up until several years ago.

Reptar 1783 LLC, the company proposing the business, submitted the original application in September. Denver7 reached out to the company for comment via email and phone and has not heard back.

*Update: After this story aired, Denver7 received a response from a representative with the business expected to take over the lodge. The details are noted below.

The Spokeswoman & Head of Marine Research for Zeppelins Apothecary, which will be the business moving into the lodge if approved, Sandra Laserna, says the idea has garnered support from many in the community.

"The premise that cannabis-product consumers are dangerous and not worthy of driving past fancy neighborhoods is not valid," said Laserna.

Laserna's statement went on to say in-part:

The statement also noted the "will always adhere to all government laws and regulations and stands with the position that THC/cannabis are to be regulated as alcohol is."

After making several adjustments, the company resubmitted an application in January, which was ultimately recommended for approval by the Boulder Community Planning & Permitting Department (CPP). The application addressed several of the concerns raised by neighbors, including water usage, fire danger, and security.

The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) has the final say when it comes to whether the application is approved. After backlash from community members, the BOCC is holding a public hearing on Tuesday at 1 p.m. before making a decision.

"I've never heard anything negative about that being used as a lodge," said Pam Ling, who has lived near the lodge for nearly 20 years.

Ling and other neighbors insist they are not concerned with another small business coming to the lodge. Instead, they are concerned about processing marijuana in the area.

"If there's a fire, it's going to affect the entire canyon, it's going to affect the forest," said Ling.

Several neighbors pointed their concerns to a note in a document provided by the Coal Creek Canyon Fire Protection District to the commissioners, citing in part:

In a letter to the commissioners, Division Chief Jason Oehlkers with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office wrote, "I do not know the average patrol deputy response time to this address/area, however, I suspect it is 20 plus minutes for an emergency for a single deputy. Multiple deputies will take longer. Each homeowner or business owner can take steps to proactively lessen the chance of being a victim to a crime. The Sheriff's Office can not force or mandate that steps are taken or followed to lessen the chance of being a victim or reducing crime rates in an area. Some of the commenters are correct in that there was a triple homicide in the same area related to marijuana distribution."

A spokesperson for the BOCC said no one can comment on the issue until a final decision has been made.

BOULDER, Colo. The beautiful trails winding through Boulder can be hard to avoid.

"More people are coming every day," said Scott Riemer, who comes to the area to bike multiple times a week.

But now, Boulder County commissioners are facing concerns from community members as a result of decisions made by their predecessors. At the center of the controversy is Rocky Flats, acres of federal land formerly home to a nuclear weapons facility.

In 1989, the facility was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for alleged environmental violations, including elevated levels of plutonium. All operations were suspended. Since then, trails have been developed on Rocky Flats.

In 2016, wheels were set in motion to develop the Rocky Mountain Greenway, a string of trails from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge to the Rocky Flats Mountain Wildlife Refuge to Rocky Mountain National Park.

While trails on Rocky Flats have been built, construction impacting Boulder County has yet to start.

During a windstorm on April 6, Michael Ketterer, a retired scientist and adjunct professor at the University of Denver, took samples and said he detected high levels of plutonium in the air.

"The concentrations in the dirt that's just kind of blowing right past us on that day are higher than can be explained in any way in normal," said Dr. Ketterer.

Ketter's concerns revolve around erosion and soil displacement as a result of the planned construction of an underpass to connect the trails on Rocky Flats to trails in Boulder County.

"We do not want to encourage or enable human traffic on the refuge because it's going to raise the rate of erosion, and it's going to push more contamination off federal property," said Dr. Ketterer.

In a Board of County Commissioners meeting on Thursday, members of Boulder County Parks and Open Spaces emphasized the agency has conducted its own testing for elevated plutonium in the impacted areas.

The board will hold an executive session on May 29 to discuss potential legal options regarding the intergovernmental agreement signed years ago.

LYONS, Colo. Boulder County Community Planning & Permitting on Wednesday terminated CEMEX's right to operate its cement plant near Lyons, citing a hazardous increase in traffic.

In a letter to the company, Boulder County Community Planning & Permitting Director Dale Case said there was a 116% increase in traffic following the 2022 closure of the Dowe Flats Quarry.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) began an investigation in December 2022 after receiving complaints from the community.

In a traffic study, CDOT compared CEMEX's average daily trips (ADTs) in June 2022 when the quarry was operational to ADTs in June 2023 after the quarry was closed. According to the department, the plant saw 593 ADTs in June 2022. That number jumped to 1,283 ADTs the following year.

County officials determined the increase in traffic was an improper expansion of the plant and created a hazard.

The plant has been in operation since 1965. Boulder County officials said the company's land use code was amended in 1994 to require "special use" approval for its operations. With the special use change, the cement plant became a "nonconforming use," meaning the plant could continue operating but could not expand or alter its operations, according to the county.

Due to the increased traffic, CDOT said it would no longer allow vehicles to turn left out of the CEMEX driveway onto State Highway 66. The department said it would "likely" require the company to alter the roadway to prevent the left turn.

The company has 30 days to respond to the termination. CEMEX can either show that the director's determination was incorrect, reduce its operations or file an appeal to the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners.

Boulder County said CEMEX can continue operating at current conditions until a final determination is made.

In a statement, CEMEX said it is reviewing the notice and plans to continue operating under current conditions.

"The cement produced at the Lyons Plant by our more than 100 employees, including employees represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers, is a vital construction material," the statement reads.

LONGMONT, Colo. Two "little brown bats" infected with white-nose syndrome (WNS) were discovered in Boulder County, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said Monday.

WNS is caused by an invasive fungus that has killed millions of bats in North America.

A "little brown bat" was found crawling on a public bike path in Longmont on February 29. It was collected by a wildlife rehabber, who determined the bat was dehydrated and its wings were brittle. The rehabber submitted the bat to the CPW Wildlife Health Lab for further investigation. Testing by Colorado State University confirmed the bat suffered from white-nose syndrome.

Two weeks later, a second "little brown bat" in Boulder was confirmed to have WNS, according to CPW. The agency said this indicates that additional bats have been exposed and may be found in the coming weeks.

The fungus has been confirmed in three "little brown bat" summer roosts in Colorado, but no sick bats have been detected in the state until now, according to CPW. The disease was first discovered in Colorado in March 2023 in a Yuma bat collected by National Park Service staff at Bent's Old Fort near La Junta.

WNS was first documented in New York in 2006. Since then, it has been confirmed in 12 North American bat species and occurs in 40 states and eight Canadian provinces, CPW said.

CPW said the fungus is spread from bat to bat, "making it impossible to stop its spread in the wild."

While it is unfortunate to discover this deadly disease in a second Colorado bat species, CPW did anticipate that this would happen based on what has been documented in other states, said Dan Neubaum, CPW Species Conservation Program Manager, in a statement. We will continue to monitor the spread of this disease with our partners and ask the public to report sick or dead bats to CPW, particularly when found during winter and spring months."

The state agency said WNS's impact could be "devastating" on Colorado. At least 13 of the state's 19 bat species are susceptible to the disease. A large-scale loss of bats could mean trouble for the health of Colorado's ecosystems and economy. CPW said bats, which are "voracious" insect eaters, contribute $3 billion annually to the U.S. agricultural economy through pest control.

The fungus that causes WNS does not infect humans or pets, but it can be transported on gear or clothing that has been in contact with contaminated environments, including caves where bats hibernate.

We continue to ask those visiting caves to decontaminate their gear to prevent human spread of the fungus and remind the public not to handle bats when encountered but instead report them to CPW, wildlife rehabbers, or the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

To help slow the spread, CPW is encouraging the community to follow these recommendations:

SUPERIOR, Colo. Boulder County and the Town of Superior have filed a lawsuit against neighboring Jefferson County over operations at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (RMMA).

RMMA, owned by Jefferson County, has been the subject of concern from many residents for years due to its increasing traffic and noise along with its supply of leaded aviation gasoline. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, demands an end to touch and go training flights in which training pilots repeatedly take off from the airport and circle nearby without stopping. The technique is blamed for excessive noise and lead risk.

No money is being sought in the lawsuit.

A Community Noise Roundtable was convened in 2021 to hear resident concerns and search for solutions, and RMMA pledged last year to expedite its transition from leaded fuel. However, Superior Mayor Mark Lacis told Denver7 the decision to file the lawsuit came after these collaborative pursuits with Jefferson County failed to provide the results his residents are pleading for.

Since 2019, theres been an increase of about 50 percent in terms of total operations They had 280,000 operations in 2023, and a large majority of those operations are these training operations where theyre just flying these touch-and-go patterns over Superior, Lacis said. That needs to stop. Its a public nuisance. Its impacting the ability for residents to sleep, to work, to open their windows, to just enjoy the quiet of their homes without disturbance. So that led us to the decision, ultimately, that we need to seek redress through the courts.

A spokesperson for Jefferson County told Denver7 in a statement that because RMMA is federally funded, it is subject to federal laws that govern issues such as fuel use and noise allowed.

It is not a legal option for the airport to mandate a reduction in those operations, said spokesperson Cassie Pearce in a statement. The County believes that the Community Noise Roundtable is a valuable venue for these discussions and will continue to work with community members to address their concerns where viable and legal options exist.

Lacis argued this response shows that Jefferson County is not taking ownership of the problem. The fact that an answer has not been found through the Community Noise Roundtable in the past three years shows that a new approach is needed, the mayor said.

Jefferson County cant just export the negative consequences at the airport, Lacis said. They cant dump their pollution, noise, lead, otherwise, on a neighborhood without consequences. They have to abate a public nuisance. So thats what were asking for.

You know, we understand that airports are important. Its important to have pilots. And you know, were not saying that this airport needs to close or they cant fly out of this airport. Were just saying that this unique, particular operation that causes a public nuisance shouldnt be occurring here.

DENVER After a year of the statewide fee on single-use plastic bags, the Eco-Cycle recycling center in Boulder estimates between 1.5 billion and 1.8 billion fewer plastic bags were used in Colorado in 2023.

The center anticipates a greater reduction in use in 2024 as businesses phase out the use of single-use plastic bags in most cases.

Eco-Cycle calculated its estimate by taking the number of plastic bags each American uses per year on average 365, according to National Geographic and factoring Colorados population, along with reduction estimates from several local communities.

Randy Moorman, Eco-Cycles director of policy and community campaigns, said the reduction is crucial because single-use plastic bags are the number one contaminant found in Colorados rivers and streams. They also are not able to be fully recycled and instead have to be down-cycled into other products.

We collect [single-use plastic bags] here as long as theyre clean and dry, and they go to be made into another product like decking or outdoor furniture. We say thats down-cycled because theyre not going back to a bag, Moorman explained. That means that we still have to go out and get the natural resources, like natural gas, to make more bags. So this is not closing that loop. Were not collecting bags that will be made into more bags. But these are down-cycled into other products that eventually will end up in the landfill.

Businesses in Colorado have until June to use whatever single-use plastic bags they already have while still collecting the 10-cent fee. The collected fees are divided between the business and the local government to fund green initiatives. Denver, for example, has collected $5 million for its special revenue fund since its fee was implemented in 2021.

Becky Goyton, an education coordinator with Denvers Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency, said the money has funded many environmental initiatives, including the purchase of reusable bags for residents and sustainable products for small businesses. Unlike most budgetary matters, Goyton celebrates the decline in revenue to the fund.

Having some revenue to do some great projects and reinvest in the community is wonderful, but its not our goal, Goyton said. Our goal is to see that fee go down and that revenue go down because that means more people are bringing their own bag and less disposable bags are being put out into the community.

In addition to single-use plastic bags, Colorado businesses are also required to phase out Styrofoam containers this year. Like with plastic bags, businesses are permitted to use already-purchased Styrofoam products but cannot obtain any more.

BOULDER, Colo. After 13 years in office, Boulder County Coroner Emma Hall announced her resignation Thursday amid an internal investigation into allegations of purchasing card abuse, sexual harassment and antagonistic behavior.

Staffers inside the Boulder County Coroners Office said the misconduct and mismanagement date back years.

Its a problem that she created and a toxic environment that she fed, said a current staff member who spoke to Denver7 on the condition of anonymity. [The environment] was uncomfortable. Just walking down the hallway was uncomfortable.

The staffer believes the county mismanaged their concerns.

I think they (county officials) had the mindset that because she was an elected official, they could only do so much, said the employee.

Denver7 received documents detailing the internal investigation through an open records request. According to those records, Hall was "inappropriately concealing purchases" by using the county purchasing cards (P cards) of her employees for office purchases, conferences and "Amazon stuff."

My experience with P Cards is when you get one, the first thing you learn is you dont use anybodys P card but yours. Nobody else uses yours ever, said the employee.

Records also indicate Hall used multiple personas in the office, which concerned fellow employees. The documents state her employees were "unsure how to interact with Ms. Hall when she appears to take on a different persona."

Hall allegedly would wear rhinestone glasses and call herself "Crystal" when she was in the office, and then wear glasses that featured a skull when she was "Coroner Hall."

Since she took office in 2011, nearly 40 employees have come and gone, according to the employee.

Thats a massive turnover, the employee said. Especially in a public office like this.

Hall, who has been on leave since September, announced her resignation Thursday.

This decision stems from my desire to dedicate more time to my family, a luxury I have not had," Hall said in a statement.

Deputy Coroner Jeff Martin has been leading the office since Hall's departure. The employee said they would like to see Martin remain in charge.

I personally would like to see Chief Martin put in that position, the employee said. Morale hasnt been higher, ever. Its at an all-time high.

Another employee issued a statement to Denver7, saying, Chief Martin has made employees feel valued and respected. Its an exciting time to know that well be able to serve our community the way they deserve.

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. A Silverthorne man is accused of stealing $475,000-worth of jewelry from a Boulder County home that was listed for sale.

The Boulder County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) said the incident was reported in early July at a home in the 6000 block of St. Vrain Road in unincorporated Boulder County. Investigators believed the home was burglarized sometime in June while the homeowners were out of town.

At the time, the house was on the market, meaning many people were coming and going from the property, according to the sheriff's office. The victims reported six pieces of jewelry were stolen, with a combined value of more than $475,000.

BCSO worked with an investigator with the victims' insurance company and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to obtain full descriptions of the jewelry and its estimated value.

In August, the GIA received two diamonds, each with a weight of just over four carats. The serial numbers and visual descriptors of the diamonds matched those of the stolen jewelry, BCSO said.

According to the sheriff's office, the diamonds were sent to the GIA for evaluation by a wholesale diamond dealer in Cherry Creek, Colorado. Detectives contacted the diamond dealer and later executed a search warrant at the business. As a result, detectives learned the identity of the person who pawned the stolen diamonds through the wholesaler and recovered two of the stolen diamonds.

The sheriff's office identified the suspect as Bryce Daniel Almus, 31, of Silverthorne. He was listed as having visited the home at least once as a prospective buyer, according to BCSO.

Authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Almus for one count of theft $100,000 - $1,000,000 (Class 3 felony) and two counts of pawnbroker prohibited acts, $100,000 - $1,000,000 (Class 3 felony).

Investigators learned Almus was likely in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He was arrested by Michigan State Police in Berrien County on Nov. 27 and extradited to Boulder County on Dec. 5. He was booked into the Boulder County Jail and given a $200,000 personal recognizance bond. Almus bonded out of jail on Dec. 6, according to BCSO.

The sheriff's office said several jewelry pieces were recovered, including a 4.31 carat diamond ring, a morganite necklace, a pair of morganite earrings, a pair of diamond/sapphire earrings and a 4.03 carat diamond that had been removed from its setting in a ring. BCSO said not all of the jewelry was recovered, and some of the recovered items were missing jewels.

LAFAYETTE, Colo. Lafayette City Councilmember Tonya Briggs has passed away, the city announced Monday. She was 44.

The city said Briggs died suddenly on Saturday in Lafayette.

Briggs was elected to the council for a two-year term in November 2019 and re-elected to a four-year term in 2021. During her tenure, she served as the council liason on the Human Rights Commission, Lafayette Open Space Lafayette Open Space Advisory Committee, Historic Preservation Board, and Waste Reduction Advisory Committee, according to the city.

She lived in Boulder County for most of her life and was a "fixture" in Lafayette for more than 14 years, according to Lafayette officials. She, alongside her husband, ran a family plumbing business for roughly 12 years.

Tonya left a lasting impression on our community through her selflessness, determination, and devotion to improving the lives of others. Her contributions will be remembered for years to come, said Mayor JD Mangat in a statement.

Briggs leaves behind her husband, Doug, and their daughters, Bailey, Haddie and Finley.

"Tonya Briggs was a kind, compassionate, and dedicated member of our community. She will be sorely missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time," the city said in its release.

Briggs had a passion for animals in the environment. In lieu of donations, the family is asking for donations to Good Life Rescue and Mother Gaia Rescue in Briggs' name.

SUPERIOR, Colo. A judge on Tuesday agreed to consolidate several lawsuits against Xcel Energy that represent hundreds of Marshall Fire survivors and insurance companies.

"It burned all of our houses down. It burned our workplace down. It burned down all of our fancy cars. It took our equipment, snow trucks and loaders. It took everything," said George Kupfner of the fire that ripped through his property on Dec. 30, 2021.

His company, Superior Maintenance, took a big hit.

"I've been here for so long that I had all the tools I needed to do anything I wanted. After the fire, I didn't have enough tools to patch a tire," Kupfner said.

Kupfner was one of the first plaintiffs in the first lawsuit against Xcel Energy.

"We filed the first case in March of 2022 against Xcel Energy to prove that they were a significant contributing cause of the fire," said attorney James Avery, who now represents around 100 survivors.

Since then, other suits have been filed, including a mass action lawsuit with the Marshall Fire Attorneys representing around 300 plaintiffs. All of those cases will now be processed as one.

"Xcel Energy obviously doesn't want to have to defend itself and 10 different cases. So they actually took the impetus to consolidate the other cases into our case," said Avery. "It means it's all going to proceed as one case."

Attorneys with the Marshall Fire Attorneys group told Denver7 they will now pool resources with the other attorneys who are representing all the other clients. It will likely streamline the case for those clients, too.

"We've been through a lot of pre-trial proceedings. They're not going to have to be repeated, they're not going to have to do that. So [other clients] get the benefit of all that work that we've done," said Avery.

For Kupfner, who grew up in Superior, he's glad to hear the long litigation process might be a little shorter for some of his neighbors.

"It ain't who lost first or who got on board first. They still lost, and they need to be made whole as well," Kupfner said.

The next hearing for the consolidated case is scheduled for September 21, where all involved attorneys will discuss how to share gathered information and investigation materials.

Avery said the entire process, whether it ends in a trial or a settlement, can take between two to five years.

The statute of limitations in Colorado for someone to file suit in relation to the Marshall Fire is December 30.

"Some people might be under the impression they don't have to do anything, they can just sit back and wait for a check. But I would advise against that. I think people should hire their own attorneys and and get on board with the lawsuit to make sure their rights are protected," said Avery.

Xcel energy has denied any responsibility for the Marshall Fire. The company released a statement after the Boulder County Sheriff's Office investigation found hot particles from a disconnected Xcel power line caused one ignition point in the massive blaze:

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. Mosquitos from a trap near Erie have tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV), Boulder County Public Health (BCPH) announced Thursday.

The virus is spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. Most infections are mild, according to BCPH, but more serious infections can cause:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly one in five people who are infected develop a fever and other symptoms, while one in 150 infected people develop a serious illness.

Symptoms of West Nile virus include:

Symptoms will typically appear three to 14 days after infection, according to BCPH. There is no treatment, cure or human vaccination.

Unfortunately, wet weather followed by high temperatures creates an ideal environment for mosquitos to breed, said Lane Drager, BCPH consumer protection program coordinator, in a statement. Over the holiday weekend and throughout the summer, take time to protect yourself, your family and your community from West Nile virus.

To protect yourself, BCPH is urging residents to remember "the 4Ds," which are:

Anyone who begins showing symptoms of WNV is urged to contact their health care provider.

Mosquito season typically runs from late April through mid-October or the first freeze in the fall.

For more information on the virus or mosquito activity in Boulder County, click here.

LOUISVILLE, Colo. Like many Coloradans, Marshall Fire survivors have been receiving their property value assessments from the county to find huge increases.

As with most communities in Colorado, Louisville and Superior have seen historic increases across the board 42% and 40% median increases, respectively. However, properties impacted by the Marshall Fire are seeing an even greater jump over last year, due to some reductions elapsing.

The Boulder County Assessors Office held a virtual town hall Wednesday evening for Marshall Fire survivors to address questions and concerns as the deadline for valuation appeals approaches.

Folks are being hit from all sides by costs, whether its the cost to rebuild, the ability to rebuild, and then, you know, property taxes are just another, said Ben Edelstein, co-chair of the Marshall Fire ROC Board of Directors. Everybody that owns property has to pay taxes on that property. But when folks have lost everything, its hard to understand that they still have a tax bill that will be due.

Dozens of impacted homeowners joined the virtual town hall to question their property valuations, and ask about the best ways to appeal. Several of the questions came from owners whose homes had completely burned down, but saw their land skyrocket in value.

In 2022, a 50% reduction in land value was given for homes that were destroyed in the Marshall Fire. For homes that were damaged, adjustments between 3% and 13% were given to mitigate costs incurred. However, those reductions are not being automatically placed on valuations this year, with the assumption that remediation of damages has occurred in the intervening months.

I live in Louisville. The homes around me had smoke damage, and so I saw a lot of insulation trucks, attics being cleaned out, a lot of cleaning going on, Boulder County Assessor Cynthia Braddock explained. We made an assumption that properties had been remediated. That may not be correct for your property, so please appeal your property and let us know what youre still facing. We've been made aware recently of several homes where they're still not livable, and my staff don't have access into homes.

Representatives from the Boulder County Assessors Office will be at the Louisville Recreation and Senior Center Thursday and again on June 1 from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to answer specific questions and concerns from impacted homeowners.

Appeals over appraised property values must be submitted by June 8, 2023.

LONGMONT, Colo. An osprey and her eggs are unharmed after a hail storm Tuesday night at the Boulder County Fairgrounds.

Boulder County Parks and Open Space posted a video of a female osprey protecting her eggs as she was pelted with pea-sized hail for over two hours. When it all cleared she finally stretched her wings, revealing her eggs were unscathed.

These eggs were laid on April 15, and so we're hoping to see chicks sometime between May 22 and May 27, said Nik Brockman with Boulder County Parks and Open Space.

Both the male and female osprey are back to taking turns between sitting on the eggs and going out to find food.

Boulder County Parks and Open Space has been monitoring the couple for some time, and put up a live camera in 2011.

The osprey tend to be primarily a bonded pair, so they have the same mate through their life, Brockman said.

Each year, the couple comes back to the Boulder County Fairgrounds to lay their eggs. But its not all marital bliss 30 feet in the air atop a utility pole.

We observed a few times where a very different male or female showed up on the nest, Brockman said. It kind of created some drama.

The live cameras give viewers a glimpse of nature and an opportunity to connect to wildlife.

The female osprey just held her ground and was protecting those eggs, and it was very inspiring, Brockman said.

The CU Boulder Police Department issued an alert early Tuesday morning after a reported armed robbery happened on campus.

According to police, the armed robbery happened at Williams Village, a student dormitory at University of Colorado Boulder.

In the alert, police said two suspects fired shots and left the scene in a white Jeep Cherokee headed toward Baseline Road.

It was not clear if the incident happened inside or outside of Williams Village, but there were no injuries, according to CU.

Police ask anyone with information to contact the CU Boulder Police Department at 303-492-6666

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. A registered sex offender in Longmont is wanted by the Boulder County Sheriff's Office for multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Michael Risinger-Peel, 41, is wanted for 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child - possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the sheriff's office announced Friday. He was convicted in November 2012 for sexual assault on a child and sexual exploitation of a child - induce/entice a child, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

The most recent investigation began when the Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received information about the possession of CSAM from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Authorities executed a search warrant at Risinger-Peel's Longmont home on March 30 and located "additional evidence," according to the sheriff's office. However, shortly after the search warrant was executed, "it appears as though [Risinger-Peel] may have moved out and left his known place of employment," the sheriff's office said.

Authorities have not been able to locate Risinger-Peel since.

His last known address is in the 1900 block of Sumac Place in Longmont.

Risinger-Peel is 5 feet 10 inches tall and 160 pounds with black hair and green eyes, according to the sheriff's office. He also has several tattoos.

Anyone with information on Risinger-Peel's whereabouts is asked to call Detective Katie Tkach at 303-441-3646.

Two men were found dead by Boulder county investigators near Nederland on Thursday afternoon.

Boulder County Sheriffs investigators were called at 2 p.m. to do a welfare check on the resident of a home who had not been heard from over the course of several days.

The home is in the 3900 block of Ridge Road. Once there, detectives found one man dead outside of the home and then discovered another male dead inside of a vehicle near the home.

In a release, the sheriffs office said it believes the two deaths are related but does not believe theres a threat to the public.

The cause of death of the two men has not been released and their identities will be released once family have been notified.

In the aftermath of the Marshall Fire which destroyed 1,000 homes and businesses in Boulder County, smoke and debris lowered air quality for people living in the area. A year after the devastation, there are signs of progress.

Air quality monitors are starting to come down.

Denver7s Veronica Acosta reporting from a Superior neighborhood says right after the fire, Boulder County Public Health initially installed six air quality monitors throughout the burn area.

As soon as funding opened up, they were able to bring in more monitors totaling 22 to track air quality.

Now all except eight air monitors stationed at Boulder Valley Public Schools will start to come down.

Bill Hayes, Boulder County Air Quality Program Director explains why hes comfortable with this move and what health officials have been tracking.

These get into your lungs, they go through all your body's normal defenses and can get into the bloodstream and impact all the other organs. said Hayes,

And so with the fire, you had a lot of dust, fine particulate, we were also worried about asbestos. So our monitoring system was looking for those types of pollutants.

For concerned residents, Hayes says he is comfortable with the decision to take down the air monitors.

In the year that it's been up, we've seen very few instances of concerning air quality that we can attribute to the wildfire.

For months, residents have been able to track air quality in the burn area through the countys website.

A big reason the monitors are coming down is because of funding, according to Hayes. Residents can sign up for air quality alerts here.

Boulder County is expanding its wildfire mitigation team, hiring 12 new people to help the community be ready in the face of another catastrophic fire.

The positions, which will range from foresters and community engagement professionals to accountants, will be funded in part by a sales and use tax approved by county voters in November.

Jim Webster, wildfire partners program coordinator for Boulder County, says windy days like weve been seeing now serve as a powerful reminder for the need to prepare both at an individual level and community wide. Many Marshall Fire survivors working through trauma say wind has become a strong trigger, instantly taking them back to the day of the disaster when gusts reached 100 miles per hour.

Webster says he personally resonates with this anxiety, but if his 13 years of work in wildfire mitigation have taught him anything, it is that anxiety is best channeled into action.

People can work on their individual home, hardening their structures and preparing for wildfire, Webster said. We often think about the flaming front of a fire, but most homes are destroyed by embers that can travel a mile in front of a fire. So, those embers landing on things like the cushions on your deck furniture, or pine needles, or other junk that you have stored up against your house. Those are the things that are often the biggest vulnerabilities and we have the ability to reduce that risk.

Each home will have unique threats to address, Webster says, and thats where Boulder County is now channeling its action. The 12 new team members, led by Webster, will coach homeowners and community members on their wildfire preparedness, as well manage a grant program for strategic forest and grassland management projects.

If your neighbors home ignites, that puts your home at great risk. So, when you perform mitigation, youre not just helping yourself, youre helping your neighbors, Webster explained. We really need to do more at a larger scale. And so, these positions will enable us to reach out to the community, develop new programs, but also to improve existing programs.

The recruitment and hiring process for the new positions will last through the spring. The sales and use tax went into effect January 1.

We will have future fires in Boulder County, Webster said. So now is the time to prepare.

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. A Boulder County Sheriffs deputy has been charged in an August 2022 crash with another vehicle that injured two people.

The DAs office charged deputy Daniel Pratt, 45, with two counts of vehicular assault which is a Class 5 Felony, according to a release from the Boulder County Sheriffs Office.

On August 12, 2022 at 9:40 p.m., Pratt was responding in his marked unit to a back-up call to a fight between dozens of people at the Boulder County Fairgrounds when the deputys vehicle collided with another vehicle seriously injuring two people, the BCSO said.

Pratt was with his K-9 partner and neither were injured.

The sheriffs office said in the release Pratt was responding emergency and driving with lights and sirens on Highway 119 toward Longmont and struck an eastbound Prius at the Niwot Road intersection.

The Boulder County DAs office said its investigation and crash reconstruction looked at the speed of the vehicles, eyewitness reports, right of way and a red traffic light.

In its release, the DAs office highlighted the Boulder County Sheriffs Office policies for using lights and sirens and when approaching a red traffic light while running emergent.

Deputy Pratt has been placed on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of the case.

Pratt has been with the Boulder County Sheriffs Office since 2015.

After years of work, the City and County of Boulder are four months away from opening their first substance abuse recovery home.

Julia Valdez-Albertson, 36, loves helping people at Tribe Recovery Homes in Denver, but says it was a long road to get there.

I started smoking weed in middle school, said Valdez-Albertson. I started smoking meth when I was 14 when I moved out of state... I never really had a good example in my life. My father committed suicide when I was 18, and shortly after, I became pregnant with my oldest daughter.

Valdez-Albertson quit meth for 12 years when she moved back to Colorado, but says things spiraled out of control all over again. She began using meth and smoking heroin.

She went to prison twice, and after her second release, became involved in several recovery programs, including Tribe, which eventually offered her a job.

Just having that experience to share with people has been amazing, said Valdez-Albertson.

Helping people like Valdez-Albertson is something the City and County of Boulder is trying to do through Project Recovery. The goal is to use existing housing to establish three recovery homes, modeling after Denvers program.

We do have sober living in Boulder, but its generally geared towards individuals with higher socioeconomic status, whereas Tribe actually leverages services for people who are Medicaid eligible, said Heidi Grove, Homeless Solutions for Boulder County systems manager.

The homes will each house six to eight people at a time. There are several requirements for participation, including an employment requirement, mandatory volunteer work and weekly sobriety monitoring. Participants will be able to live there for a maximum of nine months.

Have people come in, stabilize. They have a program, see their therapist, they have groups, therapy on a daily basis, said Osvaldo Cabral, director of clinical operations at Tribe Recovery Center.

City officials say theyve seen an increase in homelessness in the community over the last year and half, in addition to an increase in people suffering from substance use disorder.

In December, Boulder closed its main library after meth reside was found in its restrooms and seating area. It reopened nearly three weeks later, and the cleaning cost the city $225,000. The city also closed the RTD transit facility station's bathrooms due to meth contamination.

Our library and our RTD station have both closed because of meth use, and other substances have also had a big impact on the community generally, said Kurt Firnhaber, director of housing and human services with the City of Boulder.

Thats why they will be tackling an intensive housing-first approach program. Its something Valdez-Albertson is excited to see.

Everywhere theres addicts, theres one thats ready to give up the lifestyle, she said. I do think theres hope.

A man allegedly stole a car, stabbed a man who was walking his dog, then threw himself in front of another car before he was taken into custody Wednesday, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office (BCSO).

Deputies received several calls from the public late Tuesday evening about Michael Chunn, 27, walking in and out of traffic.

Deputies made contact with him just after 9 p.m. Chunn "conversed briefly" with the deputies, according to BCSO, and declined their offers for assistance.

"At the time, he was not believed to be a threat to himself or others, so he was not detained and was allowed to walk away," the sheriff's office said in a press release.

Around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, a community member reported that Chunn was again walking in traffic. A deputy "attempted to talk to Chunn but he again declined assistance, so the deputy left him alone," the sheriff's office said.

Between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., deputies received multiple calls in the Gunbarrel area in unincorporated Boulder County.

Chunn allegedly stole a car that had been left running unattended in the area. After driving for an unknown period of time, he stopped, got out of the stolen car and approached a man who was walking his dog in the area of White Rock Circle and Indigo Court, according to BCSO. Chunn allegedly stabbed the man in the chest unprovoked.

Chunn drove off in the stolen car, and the victim was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Chun also allegedly attempted to assault another man who was out walking his dog, but the man was able to fend him off, the sheriff's office said.

At some point, Chunn threw himself in front a car that was passing through Gunbarrel before running away, according to BCSO. The driver, who did not know Chunn, stopped and talked with authorities, and the car sustained minimal damage, the sheriff's office said.

Chunn was taken into custody in Denver then booked into the Boulder County Jail for attempted murder in the first degree, assault in the first degree, motor vehicle theft and attempted assault

The initial stolen vehicle was recovered in Denver and returned to its owner after it was processed for evidence, according to BCSO. The sheriff's office believes Chunn may have been involved in a hit-and-run crash with another person or vehicle.

Chunn's criminal records goes back more than a decade here in Colorado. He's had run-ins with the law for menacing, criminal mischief, ID theft, violation of a protection order; and has been ticketed numerous times for vehicle-related offenses including DUI and vehicle trespass.

Witnesses are asked to contact Detective Garrett Eastman with the Boulder County Sheriffs Office at geastman@bouldercounty.org, or call the BCSO tip line at 303-441-3674

The Sunshine Fire Protection District is a fully volunteer fire department, with just under 30 members serving approximately 170 homes in the area. Chief Michael Schmitt is concerned about the evacuation ability of many of the residents they serve if a fire were to hit the Sunshine Canyon.

Schmitt has been a firefighter for 20 years, and drove Denver7 down County Road 85 to illustrate the problem when it comes to evacuation routes in the canyon. He said it's an issue that stretches across the Front Range.

As mountain communities continue to grow, and fire seasons become worse, the fire chief would like to see a proactive solution for evacuation routes in such areas.

"Especially in high winds, there's always a chance of getting trapped. That's the reality of being in the mountains," said Schmitt. It's been a struggle finding, you know, an ear to the urgency of that situation because it's not just us. So many districts in the area have similar situations.

Bumping down the one-way County Road 85, Schmitt said there are currently five homes along the stretch, with two more under construction. The burn scar of the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire surrounds the road.

Basically, as the fire department, you have to wait for people to get out first before you can get in," Schmitt explained. So what, it takes us 10, 20 extra minutes to get to the fire because now we are dealing with having to wait for residents to get out.

Schmitt said the department has been working with Boulder County for more than 20 years on this issue. He said County Road 85 used to connect to Salina and Fourmile Canyon, providing an alternative direction for residents to drive, but the road has not been in that condition since the Boulder floods in 2013. He would like to see it repaired to give residents the option of heading that way in an emergency, and to allow the Fourmile Fire Protection District to help in the event of a fire along the road.

There's always hope, and we'll continue the conversation," said Schmitt.

Denver7 reached out to the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners to see if there are plans to update the road, and received the following response:

BOULDER, Colo. The Sunshine Wildland Fire has damaged one home and destroyed another in Boulder County.

Firefighters continue to work to fully contain the blaze. As of Tuesday evening, the fire was 19 acres and 65% contained.

Even though firefighters are making progress, residents are on edge.

Mary Wolf, who is a Marshall Fire victim, relocated to a new home in Boulder County earlier this year. This week, the Sunshine Wildland Fire forced her to prepare to evacuate again.

"I know from the Marshall Fire, it was 45 minutes from the time I saw the fire on Highway 36 until it hit my home," said Wolf.

After losing everything, she's been working to find a sense of normalcy.

"I have the house set up for Christmas again, the community has been supportive. And to think that could all be gone again, that was overwhelming," said Wolf. "Between the wind and seeing the smoke and seeing how close it was, that was really scary."

Wolf said it's still a struggle nearly one year since the Marshall Fire displaced hundreds of families.

"Were still struggling with this. It doesnt go away after a year," she said.

Wolf says it brings her comfort knowing she's not alone in the road to recovery.

"These communities have pulled together to help, and thats been really appreciated and really helpful," she added.

We are approaching the one year anniversary of the Marshall Fire, which damaged and destroyed more than a thousand homes and turned many lives in our community upside down. The date approaching can intensify existing trauma and cause new symptoms to arise, which is why community leaders in Boulder County have organized several events for a Weekend of Healing.

I used to love the wind, survivor Dana Kogler said after concluding the planned Walk of Reflection. But as you go through, theres triggers The smell of smoke, the wind in your face, sometimes are triggers for a lot of us that have gone through this.

Psychologists refer to it as the anniversary effect: a form of PTSD that is triggered the same time of year as a past traumatic event. For survivors of the Marshall Fire, the one year anniversary of their traumatic event is approaching, along with the Colorado December weather that surrounded it. A gust of wind, then, or even a faint scent of smoke can be especially triggering at this time.

The brain is built to keep us safe, said Dr. Amanda Nzi, a licensed psychologist with Growing Together Child and Family Therapy in Denver. And so, the brain is like, This was a dangerous time of the year. This is something where something traumatic happened again. And so, it revs the body and the brain back into that fight or flight mode.

Marshall Fire survivors have extra reminders the time is close. Not only do the calendars and weather offer reminders, but so do the signs of the season normally meant to bring peace and joy.

I think its a little bit more difficult with having the Marshall Fire happening so close to Christmas and the New Year, Kogler said, explaining that it's been challenging for her own kids and others. Trying to decorate for the holiday season, and not having all those historical things or their stockings that they grew up with, are emotional times for them.

But even as trauma lingers, the Marshall Fires path is filled with signs of rebuilding and mending, as well. Dec. 8 through Dec. 11 has been dubbed the Weekend of Healing by community leaders, and will include ceremonies, meals, guided meditations and walks for reflection.

I think the benefit from the walk is just stopping and taking time to be able to feel those emotions, Kogler said of Friday afternoons walk. Just giving some time and space just to be and feel whatever youre feeling is priceless.

You can learn more about the Weekend of Healing events on the Boulder County website. They are free of cost, but some do require participants to register beforehand.

If you are experiencing anxiety or grief that is impacting your sleep or your ability to complete your normal tasks throughout the day, Dr. Amanda Nzi said these are signs you should consider receiving professional help. You can find services specifically for Marshall Fire victims here.

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. A jury must decide whether or not a man obstructed police officers when he pulled out his phone and livestreamed the deadly shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder last March.

Dean Schiller's trial for police obstruction charges started Tuesday. During court, the jury heard testimony from three officers who responded to the scene.

Outside the courtroom, Denver7 spoke to Emily Giffen, an employee of three years at the Table Mesa King Soopers who was working inside the store at the time of the shooting. She told Denver7 she's hoping for justice in this case.

"I was right outside the front door. I witnessed two of the people at the entrance way that were shot," she said, adding that many of those who were fired upon that day were her friends. "Everybody there was very close, we all really cared about each other."

Tuesday, Dean Schiller, the man who livestreamed the shooting and subsequent police response, stood before a jury at the Boulder County Justice Center.

"While we were running for our lives, and scared, you're recording a shooting," said Giffen.

She's hoping he'll face consequences.

"Putting something like that on Facebook for the world to watch while we're all horrified was just a very disgusting thing to do," Giffen said.

Denver7 was inside the court room, hearing both sides of the argument.

Prosecutors said Schiller was distracting police officers when he had his phone out and was recording the scene. In court, prosecutors played the livestream video taken by Schiller and in it, you can hear police officers repeatedly telling him to back away or leave the scene.

Schiller would often times yell back. In some cases he would move back but did not leave the scene.

The defense argued that Schiller was listening to police officers and backing away from them when they ordered him to. They said he was not preventing officers from doing their job and said even though Schiller's actions may have been abrasive they did not rise to a criminal level.

"That video caused so much pain, and it still causes a lot of pain," added Giffen.

Schiller's case will resume Wednesday, the jury will hear from more witnesses.

A verdict is expected to be announced later that day.

The Boulder King Sooper's shooting suspect remains mentally incompetent to stand trial, something that has been a hard pill to swallow for Emily. She said she just wants justice for her King Sooper's family.

"I just hope that we can get that soon. It's a little bit of closure that I think we all really need," said Giffen.

As we approach one year since the Marshall Fire, the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) is advising those affected to ask for an extension for additional living expenses before they expire.

Those additional living expenses cover things like rent, food and clothing.

Hundreds of families are still in the process of getting permits to rebuild and nowhere near returning home as the anniversary of the fire looms. The DOI says most insurance plans cover 12 or 24 months of coverage.

DOI officials advise Marshall Fire victims to first, check their policies to determine how much coverage they have for additional living expenses. Second, if they have a rebuilding contract in place, ask for an extension based on the estimated date of completion. Finally, if they believe their insurance company delayed part of their claim, request an additional amount of time.

Say you've had that rebuilding contract, and it's been sitting with them for a few months and they haven't done anything, that delay is something that you can ask for, you know, whatever the delayed period was for that extension, said Vincent Plymell with DOI.

Vincent said those who are having trouble getting an extension from their insurance company can file a complaint with DOI or ask questions.

You can contact the Colorado Division of Insurance by calling 303-894-7490, emailing DORA_Insurance@state.co.us or visiting doi.colorado.gov.

The Boulder County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in locating a fugitive who ran out of the Boulder County Jail Courtroom after his court appearance Tuesday afternoon.

Around 2 p.m., Cody Coon, 30, arrived at and entered the Boulder County Jail Courtroom, located at 3200 Airport Road in Boulder.

When the judge remanded Coon into custody, he exited the courtroom and ran out the front jail entrance, according to the sheriff's office. Deputies chased Coon for a "short distance," but did not catch him. A witness told authorities they saw a man who fit Cody's description riding away on a bicycle.

Just after 3 p.m., a deputy spotted Coon riding a bicycle in the area of Canyon Boulevard and 14th Street in Boulder. Deputies and Boulder police officers searched for Coon but could not find him.

Coon is still at large and is believed to be in the Boulder area, according to the sheriff's office. He has several active felony arrest warrants, which include charges of resisting arrest, second-degree assault on a peace officer, retaliation against a witness/victim and eluding police.

The sheriff's office said there is no current risk to the general public.

Anyone with information on Coon's whereabouts is asked to call the Boulder County Sheriff's Office Communication Center at 303-441-4444.

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. Home sweet home for Gina Helart and wife, Jen Smith is Gina's dad's basement in Gina's childhood home.

They're grateful for a roof over their heads, but up until Dec. 30, their home was an 1,800 square-foot, two bedroom, two bath house in Original Town Superior. It was destroyed, along with 1,100 other homes, in the Marshall Fire.

Like the other Marshall Fire families, it wasn't just the house Gina and Jen lost it was everything.

"We had just gotten a wedding ring of my mom's and a wedding ring of my dad's. And [my dad] had given them to us on Christmas Eve as a gift in a wooden box that my oldest brother made, beautiful presentation. And we put it in my jewelry box, and it's gone," Gina said.

So while they sort through the tangled, arduous web that is getting money from the insurance company to rebuild, they wait still paying the mortgage on a house that no longer exists.

"It's a kick in the teeth, it really is. It hurts, paying for nothing," Gina said.

Thanks to generous viewers who've donated to Denver7 Gives, we were able to give Gina and Jen $5,000 through the nonprofit, A Precious Child to help with their mortgage.

A Precious Child in Boulder County has been a vital resource for families who lost so much in the fire. The nonprofit has been providing household items and essentials while connecting families with the resources and services they need.

In addition to the other needs, 150 families have reached out to A Precious Child for help with rent and mortgage payments.

"They're barely starting to figure out how to rebuild. The pricing is higher now than when these families bought their house back in the day," said Maria Martinez with A Precious Child.

Denver7 Gives wanted to help the nonprofit help these families, so we teamed up to create the Marshall Fire Housing Fund and presented a check to A Precious Child for $300,000. It comes from money donated from generous Denver7 viewers.

"Thank you so, so much. You do not know the difference this is gonna make to those families that are literally trying to survive with paying rent and covering mortgages and all that," Martinez said.

After bigger municipalities like Superior, Boulder and Louisville pursued new gun restrictions earlier this year, the Town of Lyons is now considering its own proposal.

The local chances come after state legislators passed a law last year to end preemption in the state and give localities more freedom to come up with their own ordinances. Local ordinances are allowed to be more restrictive than state laws when it comes to firearms, but they cannot be less restrictive.

Superior, Louisville, Boulder and Boulder County are all facing lawsuits over their new gun ordinances, which, among other things, ban assault weapons.

On Tuesday, the cities and county agreed to consolidate the legal cases so there would be one court hearing for all to determine whether a temporary restraining order should be extended through the duration of a lawsuit rather than hold separate hearings for each. The City of Boulder announced it will temporarily pause the enforcement of its assault weapons and large-capacity magazine ban for the time being.

This is just a sign of what's to come and helping gun rights to be restored back in Boulder County, said Taylor Rhodes, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, the group behind the lawsuits.

Lyons' proposed ordinance, however, is different than the others. First, the town would ban open carry within town limits. However, that would not apply to private businesses, residences or within vehicles.

It will not change anything for people who have a concealed carry permit, said Lyons Mayor Hollie Rogin.

Second, the town would ban the sale of firearms and ammunition within the downtown commercial district. Currently, the town does not have any regulations of its own when it comes to guns.

Rogin says the goal of the proposed ordinances is safety, particularly after recent mass shootings in other areas. The town worked with the Boulder County sheriff to come up with the proposal.

The proposed ordinances are common sense. They're limited in scope, and they're consistent with legal precedent, Rogin said.

So far, Rogin says feedback from the town which includes roughly, 2,000 residents has been positive, and people are glad the town council is taking up the issue.

Because Lyons' proposal is more limited in scope, David Kopel, an adjunct law professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, believes parts of it will withstand a legal challenge.

Kopel believes the ban on open carry would fend off a legal challenge.

That's plainly constitutional, I think, because they don't try to prohibit licensed concealed carry. And then, Lyons has not tried to get into what some of the other jurisdictions did, such as banning particular types of firearms or accessories, Kopel said.

Historically, cities and states have not been able to ban firearms altogether, but they have been able to regulate the mode of carry. However, Kopel believes the town may see trouble when it comes to prohibiting the sale of firearms and ammunition within the downtown commercial district.

The Supreme Court said you can have conditions and qualifications on commercial sales, but that's not the same thing as entirely prohibiting the stores from operating, Kopel said. It seems hard to justify, constitutionally, banning a particular type of store that sells constitutionally protected items. You couldn't ban bookstores in Lyons, you couldn't ban stores that sell religious items.

Kopel says the town could try implementing zoning laws to limit where firearms are sold, but he doesnt believe town officials can specifically discriminate against gun stores.

For its part, RMGO says it is now reviewing the Lyons proposal to determine whether it wants to try to stop it.

It is significantly different. Our attorneys are looking it over. If it makes sense to sue them, we will, Rhodes said.

For Rhodes and RMGO, the size of the town doesnt matter. Instead, it's about defending the Second Amendment.

RMGO is planning on attending the next town meeting, where the firearm ordinance will be discussed.

I've been talking to members in Lyons of what they can do to fight back against the gun control efforts that they're, that they're pushing. And that's what we're doing right now, Rhodes said. We will be there and ready to fight.

The proposal unanimously passed its first reading on August 15. A second reading, where public input will be allowed, is set for September 6. If it passes, it would then then take another month for the final resolution to be adopted.

A formal review of the emergency response during the Marshall Fire was published last Tuesday, six months after the tragic fire.

Victims who lost their homes that day, like Tawnya Somauroo, claim the report came out "very quietly."

"I assumed there would be some kind of a press release or something or somehow that they were trying to communicate this to the fire survivors," Somauroo said.

But, the public wasn't notified about the report.

Mike Chard, director or Boulder's Office of Emergency Management, said the different agencies who put the report together "could have coordinated that better, but it was more about getting this to each participating member ... and then releasing it to the community."

Chard worked on the 55-page report with the other agencies. He said it's a review of the emergency response to the fire, which examined "what went well, what didn't go well, what are the gaps and challenges."

The report highlighted lapses in communication between local, state and federal agencies, which, in some cases, resulted in information being missed, resources that could have been utilized but weren't and delayed responses to evacuating communities threatened by the fire.

In Louisville, some of the challenges included:

Some other notes for the response in Louisville include:

"We were never evacuated," Somauroo said. "How we found out the fire was already in our neighborhood was that a neighbor around 1:20 [p.m.] came driving into the neighborhood beating the horn screaming, "The flames are on our side of the street. Let's go.""

According to the report, communities in danger weren't all evacuated at once to avoid traffic jams on roadways.

"We're putting more effort into planning and looking at those evacuation zones and saying, "What is the largest area you can [evacuate] but still maintain some of that traffic flow?"" Chard said.

Similar challenges were also seen in Boulder County, according to the report:

The report also included recommendations on how to improve for each of the challenges experienced during the emergency response to Colorado's most tragic fire.

A woman and her 5-year-old son were injured after the ATV they were riding on rolled over near Allenspark Friday morning, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.

The incident happened around 9:17 a.m. on Bunce School Road near Allenspark in unincorporated Boulder County. The 911 caller told the Boulder County Communications Center that a four-person all-terrain vehicle (ATV) had rolled over and two passengers had possibly sustained broken arms, the sheriff's office said.

Arriving crews learned a family from Alabama had rented the ATV from a privately-owned business in Estes Park.

A 44-year-old man was driving the ATV with his family members as passengers when he lost control. The ATV rolled over on the passenger side, pinning a 41-year-old woman and her 5-year-old son, according to the sheriff's office.

The man was able to get the ATV back on its wheels and drive the woman and her child to State Highway 7.

The woman suffered a compound fracture in her upper right arm and was having severe bleeding, according to the sheriff's office. The 5-year-old suffered a similar but less severe fracture on his upper right arm. A nurse who was not involved with the crash was able to place the woman and her son in splints, the sheriff's office said.

The woman was airlifted by Norther Colorado MedEvac to a local hospital, while her son was taken to a local hospital by Estes Park Fire.

A Boulder County District Court Judge has paved the way for homeowners near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport to sue over noise violations, court documents obtained by Denver7 show.

The ruling stems from a court case that began in late 2021. However, homeowners in the Rock Creek area of Superior were just alerted to the ruling this week by the Rock Creek Home Owners Association.

Residents who spoke to Denver7 pointed to this weeks plane crash as just the latest example of their concerns, which they say span years as traffic at the airport has increased. In particular, more frequent pilot training flights have increased the level and frequency of noise. A study by the Rock Creek HOA board found noise limits from the airport were ten times the maximum noise levels represented by the airport, according to a letter sent to homeowners in the neighborhood.

It is literally loud enough to impact the ability to have a conversation in my house, said Rachel Stanton, who lives in the Rock Creek neighborhood. And they fly over, you know, it can be every few minutes.

Stanton and her family moved to the neighborhood five years ago. She says she was well aware that a nearby airport would mean aviation noise, but she could never have been prepared for the amount her family has since endured.

And its not that anyone wants to totally eliminate all of that, but we want to see more controls and limitations on the amount of traffic that comes over this neighborhood, she explained. The bigger issue is, Im concerned about the safety risk of having airplanes, small planes by people in training coming over our homes and businesses.

Stanton says the amount of noise and disruption has her family second-guessing the home they chose, and they are not alone. Mark Ricketson reached out to Denver7, saying he and his wife left their home of 20 years in Boulder due to immense air traffic.

I just said, you know, theres only one thing we can do and thats to change our location, Ricketson explained, saying several complaints to local and agency leaders fell on deaf ears. I would go for a walk, and there would be just a constant drone of aircraft over your head.

RMMA has been in operation since 1960, but residents of the area say the noise pollution has gotten substantially worse in the last few years, specifically. A nationwide shortage of pilots has added extra pressure to train more pilots quickly, but this training has led to a huge increase in air traffic. This has particularly been the case around neighborhoods, residents say.

If it was occasional, not a problem, Stanton said. When its every five minutes, that becomes disruptive.

Both Jefferson County and the Rock Creek Masters HOA have appealed the recent district court ruling, according to the HOA. The HOA is asking the judge to expand the ruling to include more homes in the area thus invalidating signed easements and allowing for additional lawsuits.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Jefferson County said, "In litigation brought by the Rock Creek Homeowners Association against Jefferson County, a trial court judge found that a graphic representation of noise contours in the airports 2000 Master Plan led to termination of certain easements. The County has appealed that holding, as such easements serve the important purpose of notifying homeowners of the impacts of the airport. The judge did not make any findings regarding actual noise levels at the airport, either in the past or currently. The County is unaware of any valid, scientific noise study establishing increased noise levels at the airport in recent years."

Denver7 reached out to the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport but did not hear back.

Wednesdays fire at Table Mountain in Boulder County was relatively small, with no homes damaged or people hurt. But it is part of a bigger reality Coloradans find themselves grappling with a fire season that doesnt seem to have a start or end date.

Colin Laughery, a native of northern Colorado, spotted the Table Mountain Fire as he was getting ready for a run at nearby Lagerman Reservoir.

I pulled over on Nelson, about a mile away, and the fire was raging, Laughery said. I was watching a bunch of horses get rounded up, and saw some people walking to tell [residents] to evacuate.

According to Commander Vinnie Montez with the Boulder County Sheriffs Office, the call for the Table Mountain Fire came in at 3:03 p.m. Within minutes, multiple agencies responded to control the fire during the windy afternoon.

Our fire people have, obviously, dealt with a lot of fires recently, Montez said during a press conference. Weve had assets standing by. Were really, I would say, sensitive to making sure that were on top of fires as they come, especially on red flag days.

Its not only humans who have to seemingly be "fire ready" around the clock now their animals have to be, too.

Jana Ward leads the Mounted Search and Rescue Team, which enters disaster areas to assist in animal evacuations. She says they are now used to getting deployed regularly, on a moments notice.

Thursday during the Table Mountain Fire, Ward and her team helped many get their horses to safety. Last month, they helped rescue llamas, alpacas, and sheep during the NCAR Fire.

I had never handled an alpaca before, and I learned they lie down, Ward laughed. When theyre under stress, they lie down. So, that was new."

The fires just keep happening. And now I think people are extremely responsive.

Sara Spensieri, animal control specialist with the Boulder Country Sheriffs Office, says the frequent fires are putting stress on their teams. That stress, though, is leading to opportunities for growth.

Its good practice for us, Spensieri said. Every time we do an evacuation, we get better for next time This is going to be our new normal. I hate for that to be the reality, and I live just east of [Table Mountain]. But thats what weve come to accept that we all need to be better prepared to handle these types of situations.

Saturday will mark three weeks since the NCAR Fire burned through the Bear Canyon area in Boulder County. While it certainly left its mark, it could've been another fire nightmare were it not for Boulder's decades-long mitigation efforts.

During a presentation Wednesday to the city's Open Space Board of Trustees, the vegetation stewardship senior manager, Chris Wanner, shared how livestock grazing and forest thinning helped slow the NCAR Fire's spread.

"In a mitigated area or a grazed area, we were seeing flame lengths of one to two feet, which is a place where you may kind of pull the resources back. But you can directly attack the fire with hoses and water and hand tools," Wanner told Denver7 Friday. "When those areas burned, it burned less intensely than it would have historically or prior to our management in the area."

Compared with flames leaping nearly 12 feet into the air in untreated areas, the difference was night and day for firefighters.

"The fact that there was less fuel on the ground and [the fire] had burned less intensely gave us an opportunity to kind of jump on the fire quicker and hopefully, you know, have a direct impact on the size and the extent of the fire," Wanner said.

People like Carla Schaper, who lives in the Devil's Thumb neighborhood, are grateful for that.

"They've done goats first, and then cows for the grazing. They've just done a lot with, I think, thinning out the areas and assessing what's at risk," Schaper said. "I think the mitigation efforts have been really amazing."

Like many, she had just minutes to grab her belongings and evacuate.

"It was very scary. We went from getting ready for a birthday party to evacuating, so it happened in just a heartbeat," she said.

It took an all-hands-on-deck effort by multiple fire agencies to make sure people and homes remained safe and out of the fire's path. While the cattle may be unaware their hunger for grass played a big part, the city has taken notice as it tries to remain prepared for the next wildfire.

"We hope to increase those efforts and expand those efforts into the future, so we've got good treatment areas across the landscape," Wanner said.

The NCAR Fire is now 100% contained, Boulder Fire-Rescue announced Thursday.

The fire broke out on Saturday afternoon and forced thousands of people to evacuate.

Boulder Fire-Rescue said the acreage remains at 190 acres.

Hey #Boulder! We are happy to announced that Containment of the #NCARfire is now at 100% and the acreage remains at 190. #boulder #boulderfirerescue #wildland #thanks pic.twitter.com/8oiui8Ok1u

Fire officials want to remind the community that 100% containment does not mean that the fire is completely "out." Residents may still see smoke due to interior portions of the fire that are still smoldering, Boulder Fire-Rescue said.

Community members who see any abnormal fire behavior, such as open flames or significantly growing smoke plumes, to call 911.

WESTMINSTER, Colo. Hundreds in Boulder County are now trying to figure out how to rebuild, while hundreds of others still cant return, even if their home did survive the fires.

Matt Finnigans hotel room in Westminster isnt ideal, but his family is making the most of it.

It is challenging, Finnigan said. I think the hardest part is seeing neighbors, who you care about deeply, suffer complete losses of homes.

Finnigan, his wife, three kids and two big dogs, Carly and Bailey, are currently living out of a hotel room at the Hyatt Place in Westminster.

Weve seen people from all over the state come to help, he said. And were the lucky ones. Our home was about 100 yards from the fire. Theres a lot of kids in our neighborhood who dont have homes to go home to.

Danielle Henshaw and her family are staying at the Hyatt Place as well, where the hotel managers mom, Cheryl, helped coordinate and gather essentials for fire victims coming and going.

Here its been amazing, Henshaw said. We are amazingly lucky and grateful.

Her home survived, but many of her neighbors werent so fortunate.

Its heartbreaking, Henshaw said. Its neighbor after neighbor, friend after friend who have lost their homes.

Many who didnt lose their homes still cant return, at least not until the smoke, ash and toxic fumes are mitigated.

We returned from out-of-town and we said, 'Our house never looked so good and smelled so bad,' Henshaw said.

Its not just ash from a piece of wood, Finnigan said. Its plastic, its corrosive, its chemicals.

For now, theyll call the Hyatt Place home, an extended family who are all in this together.

I walked in and theres neighbors from the next street over, Henshaw said.

Theyre having to mop up constantly, and theres dogs coming and going and everybodys got their kids, Finnigan said. The accommodations here have been beyond great.

BROOMFIELD, Colo. Step into Sill-TerHar Motors' Ford showroom in Broomfield, and you'll find, in place of cars, a sea of donations.

"It's been an outpouring from our community, like nothing I've ever seen," said vice president Greg Larson.

He's used to selling cars, but operating a makeshift donation center is a new skill he and his staff are having to learn and quickly.

"I didn't expect anything like this, so it's unbelievable," Larson said.

Donations started pouring in after he made a post on social media asking people to drop off a few things. Word got around fast, and people haven't stopped dropping things off, even as a sign on the doors warns the showroom can't take in any more.

"We started sorting and changing the showroom from a showroom full of cars to all of these items," Larson said.

From clothes to toiletries, kids toys and everything in-between, those affected by the Marshall Fire can stop by the showroom and leave with items they need as they restart to rebuild their lives.

"People who lost their homes in the fire, they are going through a lot right now, and this is the least we can do for them," said Payal Goyal, one of several volunteers helping to organize the donations.

The showroom, located at 150 Alter Street in Broomfield, is open this week from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Donations are no longer accepted.

Just a few minutes away, more than 100 cars lined up outside the nonprofit, A Precious Child, before it opened Monday morning, a sign of Coloradans eager to give back to those who've lost everything.

Among the donors was Kristen Gustafson and her carloads of donations.

"I did a major drive for A Precious Child at my home the last two days," she said. "[I] received six carloads and truckloads full of new and used items, thousands of dollars [worth]."

The donations were also made possible by those who dropped of thousands of dollars in items at the Bumps and Bundles store in Golden.

"It doesn't surprise me," said Autumn Stull, owner of Bumps and Bundles. "Colorado people and Golden people, I mean, I knew they would just show up strong."

Inside the nonprofit's facility, it was an all-hands-on-deck effort to make sure every single item donated was sorted correctly so it could be made available in the days, weeks and months to come.

"We know this is going to be a very long-term recovery effort, and we want to be there for them every step of the way," said Courtney Wickberg, chief communication officer with A Precious Child.

The nonprofit's resource center, where victims of the fire can shop for free, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. It's located at 7051 W. 118th Avenue in Broomfield.