NEWS: Summer meals program feeds Gunnison kids, A15
VOL. 142. NO. 25 | THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2023 | $1.00
Gunnison hosts statewide fire college Firefighters gather to train and build community Jacob Spetzler Photo and Sports Editor
Smoke billowed all of Saturday afternoon from the windows cut out of stacked storage containers on the outskirts of town off Hwy. 50 — evidence of the 105th Colorado Fire College training which took place June 21-24. Coached by professional instructors from as far as Florida and New York City, an army of firefighters from across the state fought a structure fire. The college is organized through the Colorado State Fire Fighters Association (CSFFA) and moves locations each year. This year's event was held in Gunnison, kicking off with classroom sessions Training A6
Elk Creek firefighter Sam Macaulay debriefs with other training participants after a live fire exercise at the Gunnison Fire Training Grounds on Saturday, June 24.
Jacob Spetzler
INSIDE Western adopts Spring burns
TODAY
NEWS: New city manager shares her story, A8
canceled due to 2023-2028 strategic plan wet conditions Forecasters expect moderate summer fire season
NEWS: Locals pursue sober living home, A12
Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
COMMUNITY: Ham radio operators compete nationally, B1 Jacob Spetzler
OBITUARIES A3 OPINION A4-A5 CLASSIFIEDS A17-A19 SPORTS B15 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
Affordability, student and staff well-being are priorities Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
After nearly a year of deliberation, the Western Colorado University Board of Trustees has adopted its 2023-2028 Strategic Plan. The plan specifically calls for improving stu-
dent and staff well-being, making the school more affordable, enhancing academic offerings and ensuring the university’s financial strength. Trustees adopted the plan at a board meeting on June 22. The university welcomes over 3,000 students each year and is tasked with not only offering competitive academic opportunities, but shaping student priorities as they prepare to take on post-college lives. To define these priorities, the university looks to its strategic plan, Western A6
Summer has descended on the Gunnison Valley, as lateafternoon storms bring muchneeded water to the Gunnison River Basin, and the valley flushes green. Along with a wet winter, abundant early-summer moisture has reduced the potential for grasses and shrubs to burn, so crews at the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forest and Bureau of Land Management Gunnison Field Office have c a n c e l e d s c h e d u l e d p re scribed burns. Forest Service crews attempted to proceed as planned in a local GMUG burn unit, but that fire did not “reach
objectives,” said Forest Service Fire Management Officer Pat Medina. “We saw these storms come in every few days, and no sooner did we begin to dry a portion of the unit, we got hit with another amount of snow, and it would knock it back. So we weren't even moving towards prescription,” he said. Since mid-March, the Gunnison River Basin has no longer experienced drought conditions. As of June 27, the basin was registering 132% of 1991-2020 median precipitation rates. Rain continued through May and early June, breaking the typical “drying pattern” that starts in May. The extra rain compounded the basin’s already ample snowpack and delayed the onset of “conditions conducive to a large fire,” Medina said. “The grasses are robust, they're green … live fuel moisture is very high for this time of year, and the dead fuel moistures have been able to retain the moisture they absorbed this winter,” he said. Forecast A8