Connect with us

Colorado

Colorado law enforcement increases DUI patrols over New Year’s

Published

on

Colorado law enforcement increases DUI patrols over New Year’s


Law enforcement across Colorado are boosting patrols for the New Year’s Eve holiday. The Heat Is On New Year’s Eve DUI enforcement period continues through Thursday, Jan. 2. 

Drivers may see saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints along with more law enforcement officers on duty to keep impaired drivers off Colorado’s roadways. 

dui-generic-colorado-state-patrol.jpg

Colorado State Patrol

Advertisement


To encourage drivers to give up the keys, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) Colorado and Uber have partnered to provide $7 ride credits. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, ride credits can be redeemed using code SAFECO24 in the Uber app starting Dec. 25 through Jan. 1, 2025, while supplies last. The code is good across Colorado. 

So far this year in Colorado, 190 people have died on roadways due to impaired drivers which totals 30% of all traffic fatalities, according to CDOT. 

“As we approach the end of a long year and celebrate with family and friends, it’s important that we all get home safely to enjoy the New Year. As you join in gatherings and festivities, we ask that you please plan ahead for a safe and sober ride home,” said Rebecca Green, State Executive Director of MADD Colorado and Wyoming in a statement. “Leaving your vehicle at home ensures that you don’t have to wonder if you’re OK to drive. Uber will do the work for you. While we anticipate that there will be more crashes over the holiday and are prepared to support those who need MADD, it is our hope that we all pitch in to eliminate the possibility of injury and loss and plan ahead to leave the driving to others. Together we can end impaired driving.”

CDOT said last year’s New Year’s Eve Weekend enforcement period, 239 DUI arrests were reported across the state.

“The heat is on this New Year’s Eve, Colorado. Law enforcement across the state will remove impaired drivers from the road and encourage motorists to start 2025 safely,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, in a statement. “Before heading out to a bar or party this holiday, take a minute to make a plan. It could save your life. It could save a loved one’s life. Choose a sober ride every time.”

Advertisement

Additional Information from CDOT:

If you plan to host a party, make sure your guests stay safe by following the tips below:

  • Collect your guests’ car keys upon arrival, or encourage them to designate a sober driver or use a rideshare service, taxi or public transportation.
  • Call a friend or family member for a guest if they have been drinking or offer them a place to stay if a sober ride home is unavailable.
  • Stop serving alcohol at least two hours before the party is over. Provide plenty of food and non-alcoholic drink options.
  • Be persistent if a guest is intoxicated and planning to drive home. Explain that you care about their safety and cannot let them get behind the wheel.
  • Remember, as a host, you could be held liable if a guest you serve alcohol to gets in a crash.

If you’ll be in the driver’s seat this holiday season, keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. On Jan. 1, 2025, a new law will go into effect in Colorado that prohibits drivers from using a mobile electronic device while driving, though hands-free accessories are permitted. CDOT is urging all drivers to begin practicing hands-free driving now, ensuring they are prepared when the law takes effect.

Following New Year’s Eve Weekend, the next DUI enforcement period will be Winter Blitz from Jan. 9 to 22.

Advertisement



Source link

Colorado

Warm storm delivers modest totals to Colorado’s northern mountains

Published

on

Warm storm delivers modest totals to Colorado’s northern mountains


Arapahoe Basin Ski Area recorded 8.5 inches of snow through Friday morning.
Lucas Herbert/Arapahoe Basin Ski Area

Friday morning wrapped up a warm storm across Colorado’s northern and central mountains, bringing totals of up to 10 inches of snowfall for several resorts.

Higher elevation areas of the northern mountains — particularly those in and near Summit County and closer to the Continental Divide — received the most amount of snow, with Copper, Winter Park and Breckenridge mountains seeing among the highest totals.

Meanwhile, lower base areas and valleys received rain and cloudy skies, thanks to a warmer storm with a snow line of roughly 9,000 feet.



Earlier this week, OpenSnow meteorologists predicted the storm’s snow totals would be around 5-10 inches, closely matching actual totals for the northern mountains. The central mountains all saw less than 5 inches of snow.

Advertisement

Here’s how much snow fell between Wednesday through Friday morning for some Western Slope mountains, according to a Friday report from OpenSnow:



Aspen Mountain: 0.5 inches

Snowmass: 0.5 inches

Copper Mountain: 10 inches

Winter Park: 9 inches

Advertisement

Breckenridge Ski Resort: 9 inches

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area: 8.5 inches

Keystone Resort: 8 inches

Loveland Ski Area: 7 inches

Vail Mountain: 7 inches

Advertisement

Steamboat Resort: 6 inches

Beaver Creek: 6 inches

Irwin: 4.5 inches

Cooper Mountain: 4 inches

Sunlight: 0.5 inches

Advertisement

Friday and Saturday will be dry, while Sunday will bring northern showers. The next storms are forecast to be around March 3-4 and March 6-7, both favoring the northern mountains.





Source link

Continue Reading

Colorado

Avalanche discipline, power play falters, Central Division lead shrinks in 5-2 loss to Wild

Published

on

Avalanche discipline, power play falters, Central Division lead shrinks in 5-2 loss to Wild


The Colorado Avalanche had a chance Thursday night to regain some real separation between them and the Minnesota Wild.

It didn’t happen, and special teams were again an issue.

Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek scored a pair of power-play goals, while the Avalanche took too many penalties and did not convert its chances with the extra man in a 5-2 loss at Ball Arena. The Wild scored on two of six power plays, both in the second period, then added a shorthanded goal into an empty net for good measure.

“We took six (penalties). Six is too many, especially against a power play like theirs,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We had a slow start to the second and then just kind of started getting going, then took a bunch of penalties and kind of took the momentum away and swung it back in their favor again.”

Advertisement

Mackenzie Blackwood was excellent early in this contest and stopped 31 of 34 shots for the Avs in his first start since the Olympic break. Colorado, which went 0-for-3 on the power play, has not scored an extra-man goal in back-to-back games since Dec. 31 and Jan. 3. The Avs are 2-for-31 with the man advantage since Jan. 16, and at 15.1% are last in the NHL.

The Wild are now just five points behind the Avs in the Central Division, though Colorado has two games in hand. Filip Gustavsson made 44 saves for the visitors.

“I think we crated enough chances to win the hockey game,” Bednar said. “We give up the (second power-play goal) and that’s the difference in the hockey game for me. We had a chance (on the power play) … we score and it’s a tie game. We haven’t had an easy time capitalizing on some of our chances that we created in the last month.

“I’d like to see that turn around a little bit.”

Minnesota took advantage of three penalties on Colorado in a span of 53 seconds to take the lead with 2:23 left in the second period. Captain Gabe Landeskog was sent to the box for elbowing Eriksson Ek away from the play at 14:15 and Valeri Nichushkin was called for cross-checking at 15:04.

Advertisement

That gave the Wild a 5-on-3, but it went from bad to worse in a hurry for the home side. Brock Nelson won the 3-on-5 in his own end, but Brent Burns’ backhanded attempt to clear the puck out of the zone went into the stands for a delay of game.

Minnesota had a 5-on-3 for 1:56, which Colorado successfully killed off, but because Burns’ two minutes didn’t start until Landeskog’s penalty ended, there was more 5-on-4 time and Eriksson Ek scored his second of the night. The Swedish Olympian was trying to send a cross-crease pass to Kirill Kaprizov, but it hit the inside of Blackwood’s right leg and pinballed across the goal line.

Because of the extended penalty time, both Eriksson Ek and Boldy officially logged a shift of more than four minutes, leading to that goal.

“I’m not a big fan of the penalties we took, necessarily,” Landeskog said. “Obviously, mine is a penalty. Val, I felt like he was protecting himself and Burns, that’s a penalty. There’s nothing to argue about there. But yeah, that tilts the ice for sure and just gives them unnecessary momentum.

“So yeah, undisciplined and we’ve got to be better there for sure.”

Advertisement

Eriksson Ek put Minnesota in front at 7:48 of the second period. Cale Makar was called for slashing when his one-handed swipe while Yakov Trenin was attempting to shoot from the left wing. Trenin’s stick broke, so Makar went to the box.

Blackwood made the initial save on Matt Boldy’s shot from the high slot, but Eriksson Ek was there near the left post to clean up the rebound.



Source link

Continue Reading

Colorado

Firefighters stop spread of wildfire in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon

Published

on

Firefighters stop spread of wildfire in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon



Late Thursday morning, a house fire spreading into the nearby woods in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon prompted officials to issue a pre-evacuation order to nearby residents. Firefighters have since brought the blaze under control.

According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, a house fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. in the 10600 block of Ralston Creek Road in Golden Gate Canyon, located around 25 miles west of Denver. The fire then began to spread into the nearby trees and grass.

Advertisement

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office


Multiple fire units quickly responded to the scene, and the JCSO issued a pre-evacuation notice to all residents within a three-mile radius, warning them to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.

At 12:34 p.m., the sheriff’s office announced that the fire is no longer spreading and the burn area has been contained to less than an acre. A photo shared by JCSO shows a structure nearly completely destroyed by the fire.

Pre-evacuation orders were lifted around 1 p.m.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending