Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com from Oct. 12-18. 

1. Two possible storms could bring snow to Colorado as new long-range forecast gives a glimpse at winter outlook 

While a few flurries may fly over the weekend and into Monday, according to National Weather Service reports, other forecasting groups say there are two opportunities for “real” snowfall in the next 10 days. 

A hazardous weather outlook calls for a “sharp cold front” to move over Colorado Saturday, bringing winds between 35-50 mph across the mountains and plains. While forecasts released Friday morning called for potential snow showers at higher elevations and in areas like Breckenridge, the chance of precipitation has fallen off as of Friday afternoon. 

Another forecaster is saying weather systems could produce snow in the next week and a half. OpenSnow Founder and head meteorologist Joel Gratz wrote in his blog that Thursday, Oct. 23, could bring a “brief period of snow” in the morning for mountains near the Interstate 70 corridor, offering the potential for a few inches of accumulation. 

— Summit Daily News staff

2. Colorado State Patrol releases more information on fatal Sunday morning I-70 crash

A semitractor-trailer crash the morning of Sunday, Oct. 12, killed three people and closed Interstate 70 between Exit 216 at Loveland Pass and Exit 205 at Silverthorne for about 12 hours.

The Colorado State Patrol, which responded to the crash at mile marker 208 around 5:42 a.m. Sunday, stated in a news release that night that the three victims were the driver, a 37-year-old female from Deming, New Mexico, and two passengers, a 39-year-old male also from Deming and a 9-year-old female from Jacksonville, Florida. All occupants were pronounced dead on scene. 

Summit County Coroner Amber Flenniken confirmed three people died in the crash. She said her office has “presumed identities” for the decedents, but officials are waiting for scientific positive identifications before releasing their names or where they were from.

The State Patrol releasing ages and residences of the decedents is based on “presumed identity,” Flenniken said, which is an assumption based on circumstantial evidence. She said the occupants did include one child, and all three were presumed to be part of the same family.

Initial reports indicated that the semitractor-trailer went off the right side of the road, crashed and caught on fire. State Patrol provided more detail in the Sunday night news release, stating the semi veered off the road to the right while approaching a curve to the right. It came back onto the road, struck the center concrete barrier and rolled across the road.

— Kyle McCabe

3. Colorado Parks and Wildlife rescues young moose in Breckenridge Skatepark

Step aside Tony Hawk, there is a new skater on the scene. 

On the morning of Thursday, Oct. 16, Colorado Parks and Wildlife received a call about a calf moose that had gotten stuck at the bottom of a bowl at the Breckenridge Skatepark. While the moose was not trying to land a kickflip, the moose became separated from its mother when it accidentally fell into the bowl.

After sedating the moose, Colorado Parks and Wildlife worked with the Breckenridge Police Department and the town of Breckenridge to safely remove the moose from the bowl.

Once the moose had been pulled from the bed of leaves at the bottom of the bowl, Colorado Parks and Wildlife carried the moose to a location away from the skatepark. Colorado Parks and Wildlife monitored the moose closely until the sedation wore off and he was able to stand on his own. 

Eventually, the young calf was able to reunite with his mother — who stood nearby throughout the rescue mission. The mother and son duo then departed from the area.

— Cody Jones

4. Man suspected of vehicle break-ins identified following fatal crash that killed suspect, another driver during police chase

 The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office shared an update on its Facebook page Oct. 15 stating the man suspected of breaking into vehicles was Christopher Neil Moore, 29. The post states Moore was on parole and law enforcement believes he was involved in over 30 vehicle trespasses.

The update also gave more information about the police chase and crash, stating Moore “deliberately drove at an excessive speed towards” a deputy who was deploying stop sticks on U.S. Highway 6 and also drove towards multiple patrol vehicles. When Moore crashed into another car, that vehicle went off the road and came to rest in Clear Creek.

— Kyle McCabe

5. This Summit County resident is looking to put unwanted clothing left behind by visitors in places like Breckenridge, Vail to use

Waste diversion efforts in Summit County have extended the life of the local landfill by a couple decades. A Breckenridge entrepreneur’s nonprofit concept could add a few more years to its lifespan while helping to bring warm clothes to people who need it. 

Drew Roberts started his professional career in Breckenridge in lodging during 2022, where he noticed guests left a lot of clothes and other items. Often, Roberts found that staff couldn’t identify an owner for the item, or that previous owners even didn’t want the items sent back to them.  He said they could bring these clothes to the thrift stores through the Family and Intercultural Resource Center, but those closed. 

Roberts said a tremendous number of jackets were left behind, alongside hats, scarves, boots and items like curling iron and chargers. He called around to nonprofits and other organizations and learned none of them had the capacity to take the volume of donations he had.

“I was thinking, ‘What are we going to do with all of this now?'” he said. 

So, he reached out to the Rotary Club network in Breckenridge and was eventually connected to shelters and community organizations spanning from Colorado’s Front Range up to the mountains. 

— Kit Geary