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Local news briefs

Staff Report

A Rifle man died Thursday night as a result of injuries sustained in a two-car accident.Jose Munoz Torres, 40, was driving north on Highway 133 when, according to police, Marble resident Rebecca Wood, 23, veered into the northbound lane and collided with Torres’ Chevrolet Cavalier. Wood’s Jeep Cherokee rolled over the top of Torres’s vehicle, and Torres was pronounced dead at the scene.The crash occurred around 10:30 p.m., and the highway was closed until 3:15 a.m.Upon Wood’s release from Valley View Hospital, she was arrested by the Colorado State Patrol and charged with vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or both, and two other traffic offenses.

Pitkin County has imposed open fire restriction due to existing fire hazard because the moisture content of trees, grass and brush is significantly low in areas throughout the county. The fire ban and restrictions apply to the entire geographic area of Pitkin County at all altitudes. Restrictions include no burning of trash, debris, fence rows or vegetation; no campfires are allowed, nor warming fires or charcoal grills except for those conducted in permanent fire pits or fire grates in designated campgrounds, picnic areas or developed recreation sites.Smoking is prohibited except within an enclosed vehicle or building, at a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area of at least 3 feet in diameter that is cleared of all flammable material.Operating a chainsaw is prohibited without a USDA or other approved spark arrester. A fire extinguisher and shovel must be at hand when using a chainsaw. Welding with an open flame is prohibited except in an area cleared of flammable material at least 10 feet on all sides.The restrictions do not apply to persons with a valid burn permit, fires in a liquid or gas fuel stove, fireplaces within buildings, charcoal grill fires at private residences, and fires in permanent fire pits or grates in developed picnic grounds, campgrounds and recreation sites. Also excepted is burning irrigation ditches within and completely surrounded by irrigated farmlands where such burning is necessary for crop survival, and a permit for such burning is granted in advance. The burn is in effect until further notice.


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