⚡Your one-stop Boulder Voter Guide

Good Wednesday morning, Boulder.

Leading today: Our team has been covering Boulder’s local election for months, and now that ballots are in your hands, we’re excited to publish our one-stop Boulder Voter Guide.

It brings everything we’ve reported together in one place, plus the vital context you need to make sense of a crowded election with 19 candidates running for mayor and city council.

And today, we’ve added something new: a handy chart showing where candidates stand — yes or no — on Boulder’s ballot measures.

In the guide, you’ll find:

Meet the candidates: Six running for mayor and 13 competing for five city council seats.
Compare them on the issues: Housing, homelessness, city spending, wildfire, Flock cameras, downtown businesses and more.
See where they stand on ballot measures: Compare candidates at a glance, including on Boulder’s $400 million bond.
Follow the endorsements: See which candidates the major local political groups are backing.
Understand your ballot: Clear explainers on city and county measures — and what a “yes” or “no” vote means.
Make a plan to vote: Key dates, registration, drop boxes and vote centers.
Plus: The RTD race, judicial retention and all of BRL’s election reporting.

Also today: Boulder’s eight-year climate lawsuit reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where the city and county are fighting to continue their case seeking money from Exxon and Suncor to help cover local costs tied to wildfires, extreme heat, drought and other climate impacts.

And if you haven’t tried balancing Boulder’s budget with Brian Keegan’s nifty new interactive, there’s still time. See how you’d close the city’s $6.3 million gap before Brian analyzes readers’ choices and before city council votes on the 2027 budget Oct. 15.

Plus more, Below the Fold:

BoulderCAST: Summerlike warmth sticks around.
Tonight at CU Boulder: Join Peter Brannen and Rebecca Boyle for a free conversation on CO2 and 4 billion years of life. (Sponsored)
Dry Creek Fire: Crews stop 6-acre wildfire.
29th Street Mall: Faulty cable knocks out power to 662 customers.
Prescribed burns: Planned burns could bring more smoke to Boulder County this week.
Elections: Boulder County offers free election workshops through Oct. 13.

Thanks, as always, for reading,

– The BRL team

Support our Boulder journalism

For five years on City Council, I’ve made listening to you my priority. I’m running for reelection to continue listening and working on the issues we all care about: wildfire resilience, fiscal responsibility, and middle-income housing. Together, let’s keep Boulder moving forward while protecting what makes it special.

Boulder 2026 Voter Guide: What to know before Election Day, Nov. 3

Boulder voters will choose a mayor and five city councilmembers on Nov. 3. Use this guide to compare candidates, understand local ballot measures and make a plan to vote. Continue reading…

Where Boulder candidates stand on the $400 million bond and every other local ballot measure

BRL asked candidates for mayor and city council how they would vote on seven city and county ballot measures. Ten of the 16 who responded oppose the city’s $400 million bond. Continue reading…

Boulder’s climate lawsuit reaches Supreme Court, with cases nationwide at stake

Justices questioned both sides over whether Boulder can seek climate damages under Colorado law, as local officials and residents rallied behind the eight-year case. Continue reading…

Boulder stays stuck in summer mode

After flirting with record highs to start the week, Boulder’s summer vibes aren’t going anywhere just yet. A broad ridge of high pressure remains parked over the West, keeping temperatures well above early October averages.

Today will be slightly “cooler,” with highs in the low to mid-80s under mostly sunny skies. A few weak showers may develop over the mountains late this afternoon, but the chance of more than a stray sprinkle reaching Boulder is very low. Tonight, temperatures fall into the mid-50s.

Sunshine, dry conditions and summer-like warmth are expected to continue through at least Saturday.

Beyond that, attention turns to a developing storm system over the western U.S. this weekend and early next week. Forecast confidence remains low, but recent guidance favors eastern Colorado staying on the warmer side of the system longer, extending our warm streak into early next week. While the pattern could eventually increase shower and thunderstorm chances, especially if tropical moisture becomes involved, whether the Front Range sees meaningful rainfall remains uncertain and looks unlikely at this juncture.

For now, summer appears content to stick around a little longer.

—BoulderCAST

4 billion years of life through the story of CO2: A conversation with Peter Brannen (sponsored)

Join the Center for Environmental Journalism for a conversation with Peter Brannen, contributing writer at The Atlantic, about his new book, “The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World,” a sweeping 4 billion-year history of life on Earth. Brannen will be joined by Rebecca Boyle, bestselling author of “Our Moon.”

The free event is tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the Center for British and Irish Studies in Norlin Library at CU Boulder. It is open to the public.

Crews stop 6-acre Boulder County wildfire after evacuation warnings

Firefighters stopped the forward progress of the Dry Creek Fire, which burned roughly 6 acres Tuesday near the Dry St. Vrain Creek Trail between Allenspark and Hall Ranch. All evacuation warnings were lifted Tuesday afternoon, and no evacuation orders were issued.

The fire was 25% contained Tuesday evening, with about 100 firefighters on scene and support from helicopters and air tankers. The City of Longmont temporarily closed nearby Button Rock Preserve.

The fire broke out amid unusually hot early-October weather and as Boulder County enters the fall period when stronger winds can increase wildfire risk. Read more on BRL.

Power outage shuts down stores at 29th Street Mall

If you were at 29th Street Mall around lunchtime Tuesday, you may have found some stores closed because of a power outage. Xcel Energy said a faulty cable knocked out power to 662 customers, according to spokesperson Michelle Aguayo. The outage began at 11:16 a.m. and power was restored by 12:22 p.m.

Boulder has seen more frequent and longer outages in recent years amid aging infrastructure and safety shutoffs. In 2024, Boulder customers experienced an average of 630 minutes without electricity, compared with roughly 350 minutes for Xcel customers statewide.

Boulder City Council has made power reliability and resilience a priority this year. At Thursday’s meeting, councilmembers and residents will discuss the city’s power reliability challenges and potential ways to address them.

A business on the 29th Street Mall temporarily closed due to a power outage on Oct. 6, 2026. Image from Reddit user u/Meetybeefy.

Meanwhile, planned burns could bring more smoke to Boulder County this week

Separately, Boulder County Fire Management plans to conduct prescribed burns this week, including on the Cottonwood property near Highway 66 and North 66th Street. The burn is planned for today, Wednesday, Oct. 7, but could shift to Thursday or Friday depending on weather conditions.

The work will remove vegetation from field laterals to improve water flow and is expected to take one day.

Other planned burns include slash piles at Hall Ranch, Overland northwest of Jamestown, Riverside, Reynolds Ranch, Sherwood Gulch and Loukonen Outlots near Lyons. Fire managers will monitor the burns, and residents are encouraged to check the status of prescribed burns before reporting smoke to 911.

Boulder County offers election workshops ahead of Nov. 3 vote

Boulder County will host Election Champion workshops at four locations through Oct. 13.

The sessions will cover how the county runs elections, how federal changes can affect local elections, where to find reliable updates and how to share accurate election information. The workshops are free and open to everyone. Food is provided, and space is limited, so RSVPs are encouraged.

Workshops are scheduled for:

Oct. 8 – Junkyard Social Club, Boulder, noon-1:30 p.m.
Oct. 10 – Boulder Public Library Main Branch, 10:30 a.m.-noon
Oct. 12 – Superior Civic Space, 6-7:30 p.m.
Oct. 13 – Best Day Ever Coffee and Crepes, Longmont, 6-7:30 p.m.

☀️ Explore events in Boulder and use the self-submission form on our events page to reach thousands in our community — for free! To have your event featured in our Thursday Culture Club newsletter, make sure to submit it to our events calendar.