Colorado
Colorado fire agencies preparing to assist with California wildfires
DENVER — As Colorado deals with bone-chilling temperatures and snow, fires continue to rage across Southern California.
At least five people have been killed and 70,000 people have evacuated, as of Thursday afternoon.
Officials said more than 1,000 structures have burned in the fires. The largest of the fires is the Palisades Fire, which has grown to about 12,000 acres in the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
Denver7 is speaking to Colorado agencies, some of whom have already been called to help battle the flames. While others say, they haven’t been asked to assist yet but are on standby in case they’re needed.
Colorado’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control said they are sending one of their Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA) to California on Wednesday afternoon.
Ethan Swope/AP
The MMA can provide critical intelligence, images and communication capabilities. It can aid in making sound tactical decisions and improving the efficiency of the fire response.
Jeff Rasmussen, the MMA’s Program Manager said the aircraft helps battle fires in a unique way.
“When you’re on the ground on a fire, you’re only seeing what’s in front of you, and so what we provide is a full picture of what that fire is doing and what’s going on,” Rasmussen said.
He said the aircraft does this by utilizing infrared technology.
“With the infrared camera, one of our biggest advantages with that is, we’re able to see through smoke, right? And so the naked eye can’t see through smoke and be able to determine exactly where a fire perimeter is or which way it’s progressing. And so we’re able to do that with our infrared camera and map specifically where that fire edge is, you know, in relation to homes, structures or values at risk,” he added.
LA wildfire latest: 2 dead, thousands of structures destroyed
The fast-growing fire, Rasmussen said, is being highly influenced by the winds. “As far as wildfire goes, it’s probably, you know, worst case scenario,” he said.
Denver7 also spoke with Westminster Fire, crews there have not been requested to assist in California but are available.
Emily Peek, with Westminster Fire said they have 21 members on their wildland team that are deployable.
“If our team is requested, they have a two to three hour window where they have to activate for deployment. They then have to get to the other state as quickly as possible. Usually that’s driving with one of our apparatuses. But occasionally we will fly out the members as well. They then will be on a 14 day deployment, but can be extended up to 21 days,” Peek said.
Chris Pizzello/AP
Although Peek added that it’s more likely they’d be sent to other states first – that have already been called to California.
“California has a really robust wildland program where they’re able to use a lot of in-state resources. If it exceeds that capability, they would first contact the surrounding states, and then it’s more likely that Westminster would be contacted to visit those surrounding states, to be on a backfill situation there,” Peek said.
Colorado crews that are heading to California now with the infrared technology said, they’re prepared to stay as long as needed and will check to see what other support is needed.
- In the video player below, watch as a mom, daughter flee the wildfire.
Mom, daughter record video fleeing CA wildfire in car
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Colorado
Construction complete on Grey Hawk Park in north Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Construction is officially complete on a north Colorado Springs park.
The City of Colorado Springs said Grey Hawk Park, near Voyager Parkway and North Gate Boulevard, is now complete.
The playground is 6,500 square feet, and the city said the park includes accessible walking loops, a multi-use field, a picnic pavilion, half-court basketball space, furniture, shade trees and a natural area with soft-surface trails and a scenic overlook.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony begins on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
The city said Mayor Yemi Mobolade, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director Britt Haley, City Councilmember David Leinweber, former City Council President Randy Helms, and Grey Hawk HOA leadership are expected to speak at the ceremony.
Following the ceremony, they said students from Discovery Canyon Campus Elementary School and neighborhood children will be given the opportunity to help with playtesting the brand new equipment.
The city said the park will provide outdoor opportunities for nearby communities.
Copyright 2025 KKTV. All rights reserved.
Colorado
Colorado State Patrol chases off-duty Denver police officer; officer arrested over a month later
Newly released documents detail how a Colorado State Patrol trooper briefly chased an off-duty Denver police officer near Golden in October, how investigators used cell phone location data to track the officer’s speed, and the charges he now faces.
Christopher Thomas, 29, was arrested on Friday and released later that day on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. An arrest affidavit obtained by CBS News Colorado on Monday shows that the arrest was connected to a brief Oct. 23 chase involving a state trooper on Highway 58 just west of Golden.
Around 11:30 p.m. that night, a state trooper parked on the shoulder of the highway clocked a Dodge Ram pickup truck at 102 mph in a 65 mph zone, according to an arrest warrant. The trooper chased the truck with his lights and sirens on and got a partial license plate number when they got to eastbound Interstate 70 near Kipling Street in Wheat Ridge. At that point, the trooper said he and the truck were going 90 mph.
The trooper said traffic was “moderate” and described the driver as “reckless.” When he got behind the truck, it “accelerated aggressively.”
“The Trooper initiated a short pursuit, but speeds exceeded 100 miles per hour, and due to moderate traffic on Interstate 70, the Trooper discontinued the pursuit,” CSP said in a news release on Monday.
Dispatchers ran the partial license plate and vehicle model, which brought up Thomas, according to the arrest warrant. Troopers parked on his street, and when Thomas returned home, he saw the troopers and allegedly fled, losing the troopers.
Learning the identity of the driver, CSP and several Denver police officers contacted DPD’s internal affairs unit, who requested that Thomas come into DPD headquarters. He did, having arrived in the same truck he allegedly fled troopers in, according to the arrest warrant.
After being read his Miranda Rights, Thomas requested to speak to an attorney, but agreed to let investigators search his personal cellphone for location data, calls, and text messages. Investigators say they were unable to find any evidence through a manual search of his phone and returned it to Thomas while they waited for a call detail records, or “CDR” warrant.
CDR warrants allow law enforcement to get cellphone metadata from cell service providers, which shows things like location data, who someone calls or is called by, when, and how long they’re on the phone for.
The warrant was approved and signed by a Jefferson County judge on Nov. 7 and sent to Thomas’s cellphone carrier. On Nov. 21, the company returned the requested CDR data to DPD, whose investigators then pored through that information using a program called Nighthawk on Dec. 3.
The location data, coupled with the time Thomas was allegedly at those locations, led investigators to estimate the speed at which he was traveling and placed him at locations consistent with the pursuit, according to the arrest warrant.
Two days later, Thomas was arrested on suspicion of felony vehicular eluding creating a substantial risk of bodily injury and misdemeanor reckless endangerment.
Thomas joined DPD in 2021 and was most recently assigned as a patrol officer to District 1, in the northwest part of the city, according to the department. He was suspended without pay because he’s facing a felony charge. If convicted of the felony, he’d lose the ability to be a law enforcement officer in Colorado.
“The Denver Police Department is committed to transparency and accountability,” the department said in a statement on Friday. “When a Denver Police officer is arrested, DPD works to proactively share information in a timely manner, when possible. As with all arrests, the suspect is innocent until proven guilty.”
DPD says it will conduct an administrative review of Thomas’s alleged actions after his criminal case concludes.
He has not yet formally been charged. He’s due back in court on Monday.
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Thomas’s attorney declined to comment on the case while it’s ongoing.
Colorado
Denver City Council approves nonprofit Urban Alchemy as new manager of one of city’s homeless shelters
The future manager of one of Denver’s homeless shelters will also respond to mental health calls.
The Denver City Council approved two contracts with the nonprofit Urban Alchemy on Monday night. One, after a 9-4 vote, will be for $30 million to run The Aspen shelter in the city’s Central Park neighborhood for three years. The other will be for $3 million to answer 3-1-1 calls.
The Salvation Army will no longer operate the Aspen Shelter (a former Doubletree hotel on Quebec Street) and two others at the end of the year.
The St. Francis Center will take over the Stone Creek shelter and Bayaud Works will run the Tamarac Family Shelter.
Debate among the council and from the public before the vote was heated.
Urban Alchemy is based in San Francisco and runs shelters across the country. It says it has a culture of redemption, transparency and five-star service. In other cities, however, the nonprofit has faced allegations of wage theft, data misrepresentation, lobbying violations and sexual harassment. The Denver mayor’s office says Urban Alchemy has taken responsibility for those past mistakes and is ready to help.
“There (are) challenges at every single one of our locations. This is really hard work. But I have confidence in their ability to deliver a high quality of service to the people at our shelters and the Denver community,” said Cole Chandler, the senior advisor on homelessness in the mayor’s office.
Urban Alchemy sent a statement to CBS Colorado saying: “We look forward to partnering with the City of Denver to change lives and deliver meaningful results for people experiencing homelessness and in crisis. Our motto is: we can show you better than we can tell you, and we know our impact will speak for itself.”
Urban Alchemy has hired 70 people in Denver so far.
Denver’s Department of Housing Stability says it will investigate any complaints against Urban Alchemy and could recommend contract termination. Members of the department told CBS Colorado they are excited for the partnership.
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