By Shannon Lukens.
High winds and extreme weather swept through Northwest Colorado Wednesday. Highway 40 and 318 between Craig and the Utah border were closed due to adverse weather conditions and safety concerns and stay closed this morning. Traffic from Craig to Maybell is local traffic only. Moffat County Sheriff’s office helped rescue about 19 people and one dog stranded on Highway 318. They were taken to the Maybell Community Center. Check COTrip.org before traveling west of Craig.
Then I-70 closed in Glenwood Canyon because of a semi rollover. But CDOT rerouted traffic south, instead of through Northwest Colorado because of the conditions.
Then there was a power outage in Western Moffat County but Yampa Valley Electric eventually got it restored.
If you need evacuation assistance, please call the Moffat County Sheriff at 970-824-6501. For all other emergencies call 911.
Steamboat Resort did not open for operations on Wednesday because of “high winds and extreme wind chill.” Winds were clocked at over 80 miles per hour.
Steamboat Ski Patrol in the wind at the top of the gondola
At Howelsen Hill, the Barrows Chairlift and the poma closed during the day due to the high winds.
Rates go up March 1 for members of Yampa Valley Electric Association in Routt and Moffat counties and south central Wyoming. There is a notice in your most recent bill. Megan Moore Kemp is the Member Relations Manager for YVEA. She says the board and staff take rate changes very seriously.
“Xcel Energy, our wholesale energy provider, raised our rates by 14% for 2023. In order to not pass on this entire increase to our members, we cut our budget significantly resulting in an 8% across the board rate increase in March.” Not all rate classes will be impacted. We encourage our members to visit our website, YVEA.com, for more information.”
For questions, reach out to YVEA Member Services at 970-879-1160 or visit YVEA.com.
YVEA RATES ARE GOING UP MARCH 1
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has an update on bear conflicts for 2022. They received 4,282 reports of sightings and conflicts with bears last year, which is a 16% increase from the year before. The biggest problem is bears getting into trash. In 2022, over 50% of bear related property damage can be linked to improperly secured trash. There’s also birdfeeders, livestock, and garage doors left open. The Northwest Region saw a 6% increase in calls because of a late freeze, which led to a food failure among berries and acorn crops. Last year, in all of Colorado, CPW relocated 59 bears, and euthanized 94.
2022 Bear Progression Map (Note: the music)
BEAR CONFLICTS GO UP FOR 2022 IN NORTHWEST COLORADO
Share your feedback with Jennifer Riley, the CEO of Memorial Regional Health, at 5:30 p.m. tonight. Meet in the conference rooms at the hospital to hear the 2023 Goals and Objectives, and hospital’s Commitment to Quality, and specialty services provided at MRH. All are invited.
Applications are open for the Hope for the Future Scholarship offered by LiftUp of Routt County. It’s for traditional and non-traditional college, trade school, and continuing education applications who meet financial guidelines and have a connection to Routt County. Apply by May 15.
The 2023 CHSAA State Wrestling Championships start today at Ball Arena in Denver. Those qualifying include 14 wrestlers from Moffat County, but two of the girls are actually from Hayden on the team. Ten wrestlers from Meeker, seven from Hayden, two from Steamboat, and two girls from Soroco. We’ll have live coverage at 92.7 and 102.3 KRAI throughout the tournament with Dean Vogelaar and Kody May making the call. A list of all Northwest Colorado wrestlers who are competing is on our website.
Big shoutout to the girls basketball teams at Steamboat Springs Middle School. They recently competed in Meeker at the District Tournament. The 7th grade A bracket brought home the championship, while the 7th grade B bracket came in second. The 8th grade B bracket won their championship. The 8th grade A bracket barely lost in double OT.
Check out upcoming events in the Yampa Valley on the Community Calendar on our website.