Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com from July 21-27.

1. What’s the cause of the haziness in Colorado and how long will it last?

A wildfire haze filled Colorado skies Monday, July 22, from fires that continue to burn across the West.

The wildfire smoke muddled what was otherwise a bluebird morning in places like Summit County. In Breckenridge, one air quality monitoring station ranked conditions as “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” while stations located throughout most of the rest of the state indicated “moderate” air quality conditions, according to the federal government’s fire and smoke map.

“We do expect this smoke, this haze, this poor air quality to continue for the majority of the workweek,” National Weather Service forecaster Russell Danielson said Monday morning.

The wildfire smoke visible Monday wafted into Colorado from the north where wildfires are burning in Canada, Danielson said. As a high pressure system shifts eastward, he said wildfire smoke from blazes burning in Washington, Oregon and California will be drawn into the Colorado Rocky Mountains later in the week.

On Monday, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment issued an ozone alert warning that ozone concentrations in the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category are possible throughout the northern Front Range region, including Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and surrounding areas.

— Ryan Spencer

2. Law enforcement provides details on Colorado Highway 9 crash between Breckenridge, Frisco

A crash involving three vehicles at the intersection of Colorado Highway 9 and Swan Mountain Road caused a roughly hourlong closure of northbound traffic between Swan Mountain Road and the town of Frisco on Tuesday, July 24, according to Colorado State Patrol. 

The incident was reported at 2:29 p.m. with the road reopening around 3:40 p.m. State patrol said at least two vehicles sustained “heavy damage” and two people were transported to the hospital with “serious bodily injury.” One driver was issued a summons for the incident.

— Summit Daily News staff report

3. Breckenridge will need to move free skier parking; officials are split on where it should go

A newly proposed neighborhood is going to have impacts on Breckenridge Ski Resort’s free parking lot, and officials can’t agree on whether to move the lot or not. 

Breckenridge Town Council discussed two possibilities for the future of the Airport Road lot at a July 24 meeting. The lot could stay on Airport Road, which is anticipated to get busier thanks to the future introduction of 100 or so new housing units, or it could be moved towards the entrance of town. 

Numerous council members described the decision in front of them, which didn’t have to be made that day, as choosing between “the lesser of two evils.” Breckenridge Town Council found itself split with four members favoring one option and three favoring the other. 

Council members Jay Beckerman, Dick Carleton and Marika Page favored keeping the parking in the area with Page requesting that input be taken from the surrounding community. Council members Todd Rankin, Carol Saade, Steve Gerard and Mayor Kelly Owens favored moving the parking lot to the 128-acre McCain parcel off of Coyne Valley Road and Highway 9. Both options would fit 400-500 parking spots.  

The approximate 20-acre neighborhood, referred to as “Runway” by staffers, is slated to be on top of the current free skier parking at Airport Road lot and will span from an area near the Breckenridge Terrace Apartments all the way up to the Ullr Neighborhood, which is just to the east of Coa Cantina, according to renderings from the town. While construction is slated to wrap in 2028, the project is in its pre-development phase and the future of free skier parking needs to be decided on before ground is broken.

— Kit Geary

4. Homeowners try to shut down kids’ lemonade stand, searchers rescue lost horse and more reported by Summit County Sheriff’s Office log

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office last week responded to homeowners yelling at children over a lemonade stand and discovered an unattended campfire while responding to a lost horse, among other calls for service.

The following incidents occurred between Wednesday, July 17, and Sunday, July 21, according to the weekly log of notable calls the Summit County Sheriff’s Office publishes each week.

On Wednesday, July 17, deputies responded after a neighbor reported that a condo down the hallway had smoke pouring out of the door. While deputies were on the way, it was determined that the condo occupant was cooking while intoxicated and burnt oil in a frying pan. No flames were present and the fire department request was canceled.

On Thursday, July 18, a man reported losing his horse while he was sleeping in the Georgia Pass area. When a woman found the horse the next day, she had some trouble catching it but eventually secured him and arranged to meet with the animal control officers who were looking for the horse. Officers found an unattended campfire that was burning in the Middle Fork area when on their way to meet the woman and put it out with water. The horse was reunited with his owners, and the unattended fire was reported to the U.S. Forest Service.

On Friday, July 19, a Dillon Valley resident received an email notification stating that he had subscribed to an online adult subscription service account and tipped the account $5. He immediately canceled the account and his debit card. No more money was lost. The suspect is unknown.

— Ryan Spencer

5. Colorado’s July wolf activity map includes update on hazing rumors, wolf pups

Colorado’s collared wolves largely remained in Routt, Grand, Summit and Jackson counties and somewhat withdrew from some areas like Eagle County over the past month, according to a map released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife Wednesday. 

The map, posted on the agency’s website, uses Colorado watershed boundaries to indicate where wolves have been detected and reflects movements from June 25 through July 23. It is updated on the fourth Wednesday of every month. State officials have released the maps monthly since January after reintroducing 10 wolves in Grand and Summit counties in December.

In its update Wednesday, Parks and Wildlife also addressed rumors on social media that claim the agency’s tracking planes are intentionally flying low to drive the wolves away from the Wyoming border. The agency said this is untrue while clarifying its staff uses the planes only to track the wolves.

— Elliott Wenzler