🏛️ How will the Marshall Fire shape Colorado law?

Quickly

⏱️ Sunny and milder today. Highs near 50.
⏱️ Speaking from the Louisville Recreation and Senior Center on Friday, President Biden pledged support for fire victims in Boulder County: “We’re not going to go away. We’re not — the federal government is not going to go away.” Read the president’s full remarks here.
⏱️ Louisville Mayor Ashley Stolzmann wrote about her visit with Biden in a message to residents on Sunday: “I was able to share some of the larger issues we face, including under-insurance and much needed resources for debris removal.”
⏱️ The Boulder County Coroner’s Office identified the remains found in unincorporated Boulder County as Robert Sharpe, 69, of Boulder. “Cause and manner of death are pending further investigation.” From his family: “For those who may wish to make donations in Robert’s memory, we ask that they do so to the Boulder County Wildfire Fund.”
⏱️ Boulder County still does not have air monitoring in or immediately downwind of the burn area. In the meantime: “Air quality in burn areas should be considered poor until testing confirms otherwise,” the county said. Returning evacuees should take safety precautions.
⏱️ The City of Louisville published a brief guide for fire-affected property owners on the rebuilding process. It includes FAQs about which documents you need to secure building permits, whether or not your house can be rebuilt on existing foundation, and more.
⏱️ The Town of Superior is gathering contact information from those affected by the fire to provide neighborhood-specific information about clean up and rebuilding. Fill out this form.
⏱️ The Disaster Assistance Center is no longer able to provide rapid Covid tests, Boulder County Public Health announced on Saturday. Find alternative testing sites here.
⏱️ The county is encouraging residents to register at the DAC for debris removal assistance. Reminder: Removing debris and cleaning up properties that have been damaged or destroyed, even if you’re wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), is dangerous. Health officials recommend hiring a professional contractor.
⏱️ The Humane Society of Boulder Valley, in partnership with the Longmont Humane Society, hosted a community vigil on Sunday to “uplift those who are missing their beloved animals and have experienced an immeasurable loss.”
⏱️ Boulder Philharmonic held a benefit concert for fire victims on Sunday. Stream it here.
⏱️ There’s still time to sign up for health insurance with Connect for Health during open enrollment, which ends Jan. 15. Boulder County is offering free expert assistance.
⏱️ After a weekend that saw Eldora’s parking lot fill up before it even opened, some frustrated skiers are urging the resort to reinstate parking reservations. “We are taking your recent feedback into consideration,” it responded in a tweet.

Covid-19 in Boulder County: Jan. 10, 2022

• 443 daily new cases (7-day avg.) 🔺Up 113% over preceding 7-day avg.
• 46 patients hospitalized with Covid (7-day avg.) 🔺Up from avg. of 39 since July 2020.
• 62% percent of ICU is occupied. ⬇Down from avg. of 72% since July 2020.
• Data: Here’s how and where we’re tracking all of the above.

Latest Covid news

• Crisis of care. In a sign of the increasing spread of the Omicron variant, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment has reactivated Crisis Standards of Care for Emergency Medical Services (EMS). “With many EMS staff out ill and with high demands for patient transports, guidance to the EMS providers on how to best use their services is needed at this time,” the CDPHE said. The guidance, in short, requires EMS to only transport the most severe cases. The last time the state activated Crisis Standards of Care for EMS was April 2020.
• Mobile clinic alert. Colorado’s traveling vaccine clinic is coming to the Lafayette Public Library (775 W. Baseline Rd.) on Tuesday, Jan. 11, for ages 5 and over. Times: 10:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Vaccines available: Pfizer, J&J, Moderna (1st, 2nd and boosters) plus flu shots, too. Register here.
• Rapid tests, via Amazon. Reminder: The state is extending its program to mail BinaxNOW rapid antigen Covid tests to anyone who wants them, for free — with the help of Amazon, KDVR reports. Right now you can get four tests per order. The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment has everything you need to know about how to get them.

BRL Picks

📕 Cookbook for a cause. Homegrown cookbook A Bite of Boulder: Cooking at Home with Boulder’s Best Restaurants includes more than 40 recipes from the city’s favorite dining destinations. For all of January, the book’s producer, First Bite, will donate 100 percent of cookbook sales to the Boulder County Wildfire Fund. Get it here!
🥫 Harvest of Hope. The food pantry at 4830 Pearl St. has opened its doors to anyone affected by the Marshall Fire, whether you’ve lost your kitchen, or still have one. Households with a kitchen can shop for free food once a week, Monday–Friday (9 a.m.–11 a.m.) or Thursday evening from  4:30–6:30 p.m. Those without kitchens can come every day, noon–2 p.m. They’re also accepting donations, and volunteers. Learn more here.
🛍️ Shopping for fire victims. Blackbelly Market is continuing to provide prepared and packaged food, clothing and supplies to anyone affected by the fire all week, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Want to volunteer? Sign-up sheet is here, but spaces are filling fast.
🛣️ On the road again. Reminder: Residents affected by the Marshall Fire can now receive motor vehicle services at the Disaster Assistance Center. A mobile unit from the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles will be on hand to issue replacement driver’s licenses and state IDs.
🎬 Action! There’s still time to submit to the Teen Short Film Competition as part of the Boulder International Film Festival. Winning entries will be screened at an award event during the fest on March 3. If you know a talented teenager with a penchant for moviemaking, encourage them to submit a short film (no longer than 10 minutes) by Jan. 21.

What We’re Reading

• A helping hand for housing. Boulder County is partnering with the Boulder Area Rental Housing Association (BARHA) to provide housing resources for fire victims. “It is an overwhelming experience for those impacted by the fires to find housing in this market. To help reduce the stress of locating a home, we created a single webpage with available housing options and associated resources to facilitate the process of finding a new place to live,” said BARHA Executive Director Jennifer Crowell. [BOEM]
• Evictions reach pandemic highs, in Boulder County and statewide. “Landlords across the state filed 3,237 cases in December, the highest monthly total since February 2020, before the start of the pandemic here, according to state data,” CPR reports. As renters struggle, “many Colorado landlords see the current upward creep as an indication of a return to pre-pandemic norms. Before COVID, the state usually saw around 36,000 to 50,000 eviction filings per year.” [CPR]
• Grocery workers strike. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 announced that after months negotiating with King Soopers over wages and labor practices, its members will begin to strike at 5 a.m. on Jan. 12. They will strike for three weeks, until Feb. 2. “Grocery workers ensure that our communities have access to food, but they cannot even afford to feed their own families. This is grossly unfair,” said UFCW 7 President Kim Cordova. [UFCW 7]
• Saving memories. The family of Boulder resident Robert Sharpe, whose remains were identified after the Marshall Fire by the Boulder County Coroner’s Office on Jan. 7, say he was an avid collector of family keepsakes and may have been trying to salvage these items when he was killed. “He had a life-time ambition to gather as much Sharpe memorabilia as he could find and over the years had amassed thousands of pages of documents that he kept in safes, file cabinets, and boxes,” Sharpe’s obituary reads. “It is believed he died trying to save this collection.” [KDVR]

ICYMI

💨 Mitigating post-smoke problems indoors. CU Boulder scientists offer helpful tips and facts related to indoor air quality after the most destructive wildfire in state history. 
🏗️ Updated: A list and map of Boulder County businesses destroyed or damaged in the fire. About 35 businesses were destroyed or damaged, according to new official estimates. Costco in Superior was only minimally damaged and reopened last week.

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