Good morning southern Colorado and here's what you need to know on your Tuesday morning.
If you'd like to read the full story, be sure to click on the story headline.
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As students move in, nearby colleges monitor Colorado College positive COVID-19 case
After a student at Colorado College tested positive for COVID-19, forcing 155 students to quarantine due their exposure, other area colleges and universities are keeping an eye on the situation. Colorado College has established a policy that requires testing at regular intervals for students who live on and off campus. It also requires social distancing, but the student who tested positive did not follow that protocol when they arrived on campus on Aug. 14.
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'A long haul': Colorado crews brace for weeks of fighting wildfires, as dry conditions persist
As four large Colorado wildfires continued to grow over the weekend, officials offered a dose of reality: The burning may not stop anytime soon. All four wildfires are facing a similar combination of factors, making them ripe for growth and difficult to fight: Colorado's ongoing drought conditions; steep and rugged terrain where the fires are burning; natural fire fuels, such as pine beetle; and a forecast that includes the possibility of dry thunderstorms — bringing more lightning — and offers little chance of rain.
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Very hot today with a small chance for isolated storms
We're looking at a HOT day across southern Colorado, with a chance for isolated and spotty storms over the mountains. Temperatures under the sun will crank into the 90s through the afternoon, with one or two spots like Pueblo and La Junta possibly hitting 100 degrees! Spotty storms over the mountains won't have much moisture to work with, but we could still see something travel south from Teller through Fremont and Custer Counties.
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PPLD helping homeschool families with resources
Monday marked the first day of back to school for several school districts in the Pikes Peak Region. Still, other school districts have delayed the start of their school years and some families have decided to ditch public school and homeschool on their own. For many, it means turning to the Pikes Peak Library District resources in order to make it happen. PPLD is currently looking at ways it can be of service for families making the transition. In addition to digital resources, there are also many physical resources for families to use.
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Pine Gulch Fire now 4th largest in our state's history
After a relatively slow start to the summer's peak wildfire season, things have really taken a turn for the worse the past couple of weeks. There are currently four major wildfires burning in Colorado, which combined have scorched more than 120,000 acres. The largest is the Pine Gulch Fire, which is burning 18 miles north of Grand Junction. This fire has burned more than 86,000 acres, and is only 7% contained. It was sparked by lightning back on July 31.
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