March 4, 2021
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LoneTreeVoice.net
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 11 | VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | SPORTS: PAGE 23
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 4
A year in, state at critical COVID-19 juncture Hospitalizations, deaths could ramp back up if UK variant spreads, behavior loosens BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Even as Colorado’s COVID-19 restrictions loosened in the past couple of months, the state contin-
ued to enjoy falling rates of new coronavirus cases — but Coloradans risk reversing that trajectory if they start to have more face-to-face contacts than they do now. “If Colorado remains on the current trajectory, statewide hospital demand and cases will continue to decline,” a Feb. 24 report by the Colorado School of Public Health says. Optimistically, the report adds: “It will be over a month before hospital demand and infection prevalence reach (the low) levels comparable to
last summer.” The state may be on a riskier track, though, if Coloradans start to have more in-person contacts and let their guard down on behaviors such as mask-wearing. A key indicator to watch is the “effective reproduction number,” sometimes written “Re,” a measure of how rapidly COVID-19 infections are spreading. It’s a similar measure to Colorado’s R0 — pronounced “R-naught” — that state officials discussed in the pandemic’s earlier stages.
The reproduction number shows how many people each infected person will, on average, likely spread the virus to. If the number sits below 1, infections are decreasing. Colorado’s most recent estimate is 0.95, reflecting the virus’s spread in early February. That means the rate of new cases could soon start to increase again if the public isn’t cautious. Coloradans appeared to be having more in-person contacts in early SEE COVID, P10
Tough wildfire, drought season likely on horizon Area forecast shows more dry, warm weather in March and April BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
There may have been snow on the ground just days ago, but Douglas County is gearing up for a difficult wildfire and drought season around the corner. As the county begins its fifth month in some of the worst possible drought conditions, local officials are encouraging residents to step up their awareness of the situation and consider what they can do to help. While the entire Denver metro area and much of the state are experiencing moderate to extreme drought conditions, almost all of Douglas County was considered to be under the worst possible dryness situation — called “exceptional drought” — from Oct. 20 until Feb. 23, according to the United States Drought Monitor. By the end of February, the county was in the secondSEE DROUGHT, P6
Douglas County was considered to be under the worst possible dryness conditions — called “exceptional drought” — from Oct. 20 PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER until Feb. 23, according to the United States Drought Monitor.
FAIR CHANCE OF FUN
Some local festivals and events could make comebacks this year P14
PLAYOFF PUSH
The regular season is drawing to a close for local high school teams P23