Chicken coop fire breaks out in Carbondale

A heat lamp in a chicken coop apparently caused a fire to break out in Carbondale early Tuesday morning, causing some structural damage to surrounding buildings. There were no injuries other than all of the chickens died in the fire.

At 3:48 a.m. on Tuesday, Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District was paged for a report of a brush fire at 184 N. 11th St. The first responding fire officer was on scene within eight minutes and reported a fire burning between a shed and a home.

The fire damaged a chicken coop, straw bale shed and windows of the residence, along with a fence, deck and porch at an adjacent residence, 201 N. 12th St. There were no firefighter or civilian injuries, though all of the chickens in the coop were killed in the fire. The chicken coop was a total loss and the straw bale shed suffered extensive damage, however no dollar amount has been determined at this time.

The fire department responded with three fire trucks, an ambulance and 17 personnel. The fire was reported as being out at 4:21 a.m. The first fire truck was on scene in 16 minutes.

The Carbondale Police Department and the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department also responded to this incident.

Equipment donated to AVSC

Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club will welcome 250 scholarship recipients to this year’s equipment night at both Gorsuch Ltd. and D&E/Four Mountain Sports tonight. From 4-8 p.m., staff from both retailers in Aspen will be fitting AVSC participants with donated equipment to use for the entire season.

“This program makes skiing and snowboarding a reality for a great group of deserving children,” said AVSC base camp program director Madeleine Hawken. “We would be unable to help these children if it weren’t for the generosity of both Gorsuch and D&E.”

Qualifying AVSC participants can use the ski equipment sets from Gorsuch for free for the season and keep them as long as they fit, provided they pass them along and keep them circulating in the community once they outgrow the sets. D&E offers snowboard equipment sets for the entire season for free but recipients must return the sets in order to retain enough supply for the next season.

Over 2,000 kids and teens will be participating in AVSC this winter. In addition, 30 percent of AVSC skiers and snowboarders each season receive scholarships totaling $275,000. Club skiers and snowboarders hail from entire Roaring Fork Valley and towns as far away as Grand Junction. For more information or to register for AVSC programs visit www.teamavsc.org [1].

Snowpack discussion Friday

To kick off its backcountry awareness series, Powder to the People presents a winter avalanche outlook on Friday, Dec. 2, from 6-7:30 p.m. in Rio Grande building (formerly the Aspen Youth Center) in Aspen. Brian McCall of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) will discuss current conditions, recent avalanche activity, and how the local snowpack is shaping up, along with some hints for safe backcountry riding. 

Special guest speaker for the evening is Alaska Rendezvous Heli Guides owner operator and lead guide Theo Meiners, who also guides and teaches at Jackson Hole. Meiners is a 30-year ski instructor, patrol trainer, coach, and one of the foremost avalanche experts in the country who advises the National Ski Patrol on snow science. Drawing on his experience and insight, he will go over the evolution of skiing the backcountry, which has seen an explosion in popularity over the last few years, and share some of his deep knowledge of snowpack, avalanche dynamics, and survival techniques. Powder to the People presents the winter backcountry discussion series in conjunction with CAIC as part of its educational efforts to promote avalanche awareness and backcountry safety. The next backcountry discussion is Jan. 13. For more information, contact Mike at 970-ERA-2SKI or info@PowderToThePeople.org [2].