Crested Butte News

08/31/2026

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN 🎉 Dawn is the winner of Fat Marmot Week 2026, sweeping both the weight-gain and popular-vote competitions. Everyone, please give it up for our chunky champion!

It’s been an amazing week, and all of the competitors are winners in our hearts. Thank you to all those who voted — we had over 23,000 votes cast! And if your favorite didn’t win this year, don’t fret; you’ll have a chance to root for your favorite again during Fat Marmot Week 2027!

08/31/2026

Gold Mountain Fire Update: Gunnison County removing zones from evacuation status

At 12:00 p.m. on August 31st, 2026, evacuation Zones GNN-032 and GNN-033 from the Gold Mountain Fire will be reduced from Pre-Evacuation status to no evacuation status.

➡️ For Zone 32, this includes the area south of Storm King, east of Cimarron Ridge to County Rd 864A in the Cimarron Valley to the US Forest Service boundary. This includes the Bear Claw, Silver Jack, Eagle's Rest, and Little Bighorn subdivisions.
➡️ For Zone 33, this includes the area east of County Road 864A and West of Big Blue Creek, up to the BLM boundary; and south of the intersection of County Road 883 and County Road 864, also known as Little Cimarron; and north of the Forest Service Boundary.

Fire personnel have completed containment lines in the area, and favorable weather conditions are expected.

No credentials will be required for reentry.

⛔ 🌲 National Forest and BLM closures remain in effect and can be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/.../gold-mountain-and-elk...
🚫🛩️ A Temporary Flight Restriction remains in place around the fire area. For details, visit https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=detail_6_7463

Please call the Gunnison County Emergency Operations Center at 970-641-7660 for any questions or needs regarding re-entry, or visit https://emergency.gunnisoncounty.org/ for incident information and to sign up for Gunnison Regional Alerts for emergency notifications.

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Actualización sobre el incendio de Gold Mountain: el condado de Gunnison retira algunas zonas del estado de evacuación

A las 12:00 h del 31 de agosto de 2026, las zonas de evacuación GNN-032 y GNN-033 afectadas por el incendio de Gold Mountain pasarán del estado de preevacuación a la ausencia de evacuación.

➡️ En el caso de la zona 32, esto incluye el área al sur de Storm King, al este de Cimarron Ridge hasta la carretera comarcal 864A en el valle de Cimarron, hasta el límite del Servicio Forestal de EE. UU. Esto incluye las urbanizaciones Bear Claw, Silver Jack, Eagle's Rest y Little Bighorn.
➡️ En cuanto a la Zona 33, esto incluye la zona al este de la carretera comarcal 864A y al oeste de Big Blue Creek, hasta el límite de la Oficina de Gestión de Tierras (BLM); así como al sur de la intersección de las carreteras comarcales 883 y 864, también conocida como Little Cimarron; y al norte del límite del Servicio Forestal.

El personal de extinción ha completado las líneas de contención en la zona y se prevén condiciones meteorológicas favorables.

No se exigirán credenciales para volver a entrar.

⛔ 🌲 Los cierres del Bosque Nacional y de la BLM siguen vigentes y pueden consultarse en: https://www.fs.usda.gov/.../gold-mountain-and-elk...
🚫🛩️ Sigue vigente una restricción temporal de vuelos en los alrededores de la zona del incendio. Para más detalles, visite https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=detail_6_7463

Si tiene alguna pregunta o necesidad relacionada con el reingreso, llame al Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia del condado de Gunnison al 970-641-7660, o visite https://emergency.gunnisoncounty.org/ para obtener información sobre el incidente y suscribirse a las alertas regionales de Gunnison para recibir notificaciones de emergencia.

08/31/2026

Some shots from Crested Butte's first day of school last Monday. See all of the photos by Ben Barocas: https://cbnews.smugmug.com/ISSUES/8-28-26/First-Day-of-School

08/28/2026

CENTER PLAY: The Center for the Arts hosted the children’s musical Bodhi + The Rainforest about a caterpillar trying to save a disappearing rainforest. – photos by Robby Lloyd
All the photos can be found here: https://cbnews.smugmug.com/ISSUES/8-28-26/Bodhi-The-Rainforest-Plat/i-f5t74jP

08/28/2026

The Crested Butte Titans boys’ soccer team learned a lot in their season opener on Saturday, August 22 holding off a second half surge from the Vail Mountain Rangers to eke out a 2-0 win.

“I was really pleased with how the boys relied on each other and stayed composed when the game got d

08/28/2026

Bear activity is high across Colorado this season, including in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre & Gunnison National Forests. When you’re out enjoying the forest, remember you’re in bear country.

Stay Safe:
• Do not run if you see a bear
• Remain calm and back away slowly while facing the bear
• Make yourself look large and use loud noises if the bear continues to approach
• Carry bear spray and know how to use it
• Hike in groups and keep children and dogs close

Being prepared keeps both you and wildlife safe. Visit the Forest Service’s “Be Bear Aware” page for more information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/know-before-you-go/bears

08/27/2026

Chances are most people have now heard the story about the bear that broke into a Mt. Crested Butte residence last week and started a fire in the kitchen. The story went viral and unfortunately the bear was killed in the act as local law enforcement and safety personnel responded to the incident on Paradise Road during the early morning of August 19. But that’s far from the only bear encounter in the area this summer.

Conflicts and euthanasia numbers up by Mark Reaman Chances are most people have now heard the stor

08/27/2026

On Wednesday evening, August 26, the Crested Butte town council voted unanimously to proceed with putting its proposed excise tax on non-primary residences and vacant property in town on this fall’s election ballot despite a recent lawsuit filed to challenge the language on the ballot. Council will not change the ballot language as the legal complaint requested nor will they postpone the vote.

UPDATE TO THE PUBLISHED STORY BELOW FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT'S MEETING: CB council moves forward to defe

08/21/2026

Who would have thought that the marmots of Rocky Mountain Biological Labs (RMBL) in Gothic would garner so many followers on the webpages of Only Fans, the social media platform mostly known for its explicitly sexy adult content? Not just marmots, but the chonkiest chunkies of the furry ground squirrels, studied by the researchers at RMBL.

by Dawne Belloise Who would have thought that the marmots of Rocky Mountain Biological Labs (RMBL)

08/21/2026

Back in late March the Kochevar’s hockey team came back from a 3-0 deficit to win the A/B league title. On Thursday, August 13 the Kochevar’s softball team made a similar comeback to add a softball title to the walls of franchise headquarters on Elk Avenue.

1…2…3… Coop, Frank! by Than Acuff Back in late March the Kochevar’s hockey team came back from a 3-