1. Crews respond to blaze burning west of Black Mountain Fire

Update: The fire was extinguished and mopped up with crews leaving the scene by 5 p.m. Sunday.

Original story: Crews are responding to another wildfire start northeast of Kremmling.

The Grand County Sheriff’s Office estimated the fire to be about 1.5 acres as of Sunday afternoon. It is burning in grass near the intersection of County Road 22 and County Road 2, which is about 2.5 miles west of the Black Mountain Fire.

2. Third Grand County resident dies of COVID-19 as hospitalizations rise

Grand County Public Health Director Abbie Baker confirmed the death of a third Grand County resident due to COVID-19 on Friday.

Two other residents have died because of COVID-19 complications since the pandemic began. The first death in the county was reported in November 2020 and the second in January.

No additional information about the death was released.

3. Death of 6-year-old girl at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park under investigation

A 6-year-old girl on vacation with her family from Colorado Springs died Sunday evening on the Haunted Mine Drop ride at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, a release from the Garfield County coroner states.

“Immediately following the incident, Glenwood Caverns employees initiated first aid until paramedics with the Glenwood Springs Fire Department arrived and determined the child had died,” Coroner Robert Glassmire states. “The investigation into the circumstances of the fatality is under investigation by the sheriff’s office and coroner’s office.”

The identity of the child is being withheld “to give the family time to notify additional family members.”

4. Grand grapples with suicide

Grand County resident Kasy Allen was searching for support following the suicides of her nephew and a close friend, and the first thing that came up on the online results was death statistics — burying the resources she needed.

Allen, who has a background in digital marketing, knew the problem could be fixed — displaying suicide prevention resources at the top of the search — by creating a new website highlighting local options, so she worked with Grand County Rural Health Network and Grand County government to do just that.

From there, Allen and the Grand County Rural Health Network’s Community Leader Group dedicated time to making local mental health resources more accessible, including planning the You Are Not Alone community suicide prevention hike for Sunday.

5. Winter Park dedicates $325,000 to new program offering cash for long-term leases

Winter Park hopes to roll out an emergency program that will pay short-term rentals to convert to workforce housing as soon as next week after town council approved the program details on Tuesday.

During the regular council meeting, Winter Park Town Manager Keith Riesberg presented the Short-Term Fix program, which aims to pair local short-term rentals or second homeowners with Winter Park businesses.

Each business and property owner can negotiate a lease for housing employees for six months or one year, with the town paying the property owner for their participation. Incentives are on top of any revenue collected through leasing.