Editor’s note: Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com in the past week.

1. 1 killed, another seriously injured in I-70 crash Tuesday night

The driver of a semitractor-trailer was killed in a crash on Interstate 70 near Silverthorne Tuesday night, Oct. 5, and at least one other person was seriously injured.

At about 10:45 p.m., Colorado State Patrol received the report of a crash on westbound I-70 east of Silverthorne, according to Trooper Josh Lewis. The driver of a semitractor-trailer, a 43-year-old man from California, was driving in the far left lane, and the two lanes to his right were closed for construction.

— Taylor Sienkiewicz

2. Ski industry leaders gather to discuss winter plans, drum up ski season excitement

This year’s gathering of Summit County’s ski industry professionals at the annual Ski Area COO Summit felt nearly pre-pandemic, with an in-person event and industry leaders focusing on tourism data, new ski area features and general stoke for the upcoming ski season.

Alan Henceroth, chief operating officer of Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, kicked off the ski area speeches by reiterating that A-Basin’s goal is to focus on quality over quantity.

“About 2 1/2 years ago, we set off on a journey,” Henceroth said. “We had reached a point where we — at least on weekends — we were just busier than we could possibly handle. … We knew we had to change things. We had to figure out a way to focus on the guest, focus on their experience, make it a better place for our employees to work and just not be quite so busy on those peak days.”

— Taylor Sienkiewicz

3. 70-year-old woman dies from COVID-19, marking county’s 5th COVID death

A 70-year-old Summit County woman died on Sept. 21 from COVID-19, according to Summit County Public Health Director Amy Wineland. The woman was not vaccinated.

The woman is the fifth person to die from COVID-19 in Summit County, while five others have tested positive after death. Some that have died of other causes include a 37-year-old Summit County man who died Aug. 17 at his residence and later tested positive for COVID-19. The death was not caused by COVID-19, according to the Summit County coroner; however, it is counted as a death among cases of the virus to align with the way the state tracks death data.

— Jenna deJong

4. Summit County planning department proposes tweaks to short-term rental license program

When Summit County implemented its temporary short-term rental license moratorium last month, the goal was to free up bandwidth so that county staff could tweak its short-term rental program.

According to a memo recently drafted by Summit County Senior Planner Jessica Potter, the county’s current short-term rental program was first adopted in 2018. The memo states that there was no distinction made between resort areas and neighborhood areas, and that there’s currently a “one-size-fits-all” approach when granting licenses. The memo states that this program is well suited for resort areas, but it doesn’t take into account how these licenses are impacting areas traditionally occupied by locals.

— Jenna deJong

5. A look inside the Ptarmigan Fire burn scar as crews continue to build containment

The massive aircraft presence circling above Silverthorne over the past week has largely dissipated. Evacuees have returned home, pre-evacuation notices have been lifted and the column of smoke billowing out of the White River National Forest is gone.

A little more than a week after the Ptarmigan Fire ignited, things have returned to normal for most residents in Summit County. But the work is far from complete.

Not far from where the Ptarmigan Trail meets the Angler Mountain Trail — a strenuous hike for firefighters in full protective gear hauling chain saws and axes — there are clear reminders of the wildfire that threatened hundreds of homes in the Hamilton Creek and Angler Mountain Ranch neighborhoods just days ago.

— Sawyer D’Argonne