Photo from Rocky Mountain National Park
Editor’s note: Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com for the past week.
With more than 27 square miles of Rocky Mountain National Park burned on the western side alone, recovery efforts for the iconic landmark will be extensive.
Chief of Resource Stewardship Koren Nydick outlined the park’s plan for emergency stabilization and burned area rehabilitation to Grand County commissioners on Tuesday, Jan. 12. The plan covered impacts like trail and road management, vegetation and wildlife, watershed concerns and cultural resources.
The East Troublesome Fire burned 31 miles of trails on the western side of the Rocky, known as the Colorado River District or Grand Lake’s backyard. Eighteen campsites and 13.5 miles worth of roads were also in the burn area.
Summit County officials will allow five-star certified restaurants to leave alcohol on tables until 10 p.m., but the 9:30 p.m. last call for the sale of alcohol remains in place.
At a Summit County Board of Health meeting Thursday, Jan. 21, commissioners decided to make the change to the 5 Star Business Certification Program. The change will go into effect Saturday, Jan. 23.
The board also decided to require that five-star restaurants collect contact information only from one person per household in a reservation. Previously, those restaurants were required to collect the information of every person on the reservation.
The changes apply only to restaurants that are five-star certified. Restaurants that are not in the program still will be held to a 9:30 p.m. last call on the consumption and sale of alcohol. The board hopes the changes will provide more incentive for businesses to remain in the program.
With COVID-19 cases widespread, Summit County officials struggle to pinpoint transmission trends summitdaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from summitdaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Summit County reported 136 new cases and two additional hospitalizations due to the novel coronavirus over the week, according to the county’s coronavirus webpage. The total number of cases is now at 2,346 and 65.
Summit County officials will be releasing a new public health order next week to clarify how short-term lodging companies should go about confirming the number of households in one reservation.