TANKER DRIVER SEVERELY BURNED IN EXPLOSION
RAYMER» A truck driver NEW was burned severely early Sunday when his crude oil tanker exploded outside of an old gas station that had been converted into his trucking company’s lot.
New Raymer-Stoneham Fire Chief Leroy Warboys said he got the call about 2:30 a.m. Sunday about an explosion. When he arrived at the scene — nearly 60 miles northeast of Greeley — firefighters found the man inside his own truck, having managed to pull it away from the flames.
“We got him out of his own pickup, and he was (flown by helicopter) to the hospital,” he said.
The driver is in stable condition. His name has not been released.
This is the third oil-andgas-related fire in the past six weeks in Weld County. The first occurred Nov. 16 as contractors worked on a DCP Midstream pipeline near Weld County Road 71 and Colorado 392, near Galeton. One worker died, and three were injured.
Friday night it was east of Windsor in the Great Western Industrial Park near Weld County Road 21 and Colorado 392, where firefighters are still trying to piece together what triggered an explosion at an active oil and gas production operation for Extraction Oil and Gas.
Warboys said the New Raymer fire took out the Walker Gas Station, a family-owned fixture in this tiny town for generations. He said there is nothing left of the building, which elderly locals remember going to for candy when they were children.
Pawnee Station reported a neighboring restaurant was not affected by the fire. The restaurant owners opened the doors to provide coffee, cinnamon rolls, breakfast sandwiches and a warm place to retreat for the responders.
Denver firefighters find body while responding to house blaze.
Denver firefighters responding to a house blaze found a person dead Sunday. The fire at 4925 W. 10th Ave., near Sheridan Boulevard, was reported at 1:21 p.m. by someone who said there was a disabled child inside the building, said Capt. Greg Pixley of the Denver Fire Department. “When we arrived on scene, we found a deceased individual,” Pixley said. Pixley said he didn’t know the gender or age of the person. An investigation will determine what caused the fire and “whether it was accidental,” he said. Police said they were conducting a death investigation alongside Denver Fire Department investigators.
NORAD charts Santa’s flight.
Santa Claus had delivered nearly 4 million packages as he left Portugal and arrived in Exeter, England, on Christmas Eve, according to NORAD’s tracking. Hundreds of volunteers in Colorado were answering questions Sunday from children who wanted to know where Santa was on his Christmas Eve travels. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump also pitched in and took calls for the NORAD Tracks Santa program from their Florida estate. It is the 62nd year for the program run by the U.S. and Canada.
Police shoot armed person while responding to reports of someone in distress.
Police officers shot an armed person Sunday afternoon while responding to reports of someone in distress, officials said.
KerriAnne Mukhopadhyay, a spokeswoman for the town of Castle Rock, said officers were called to the 1300 block of South Sierra Drive just before 3 p.m. on reports of a suicidal person.
“The suspect came out ... with a gun,” she said. “That’s when officers were forced to fire shots.”
Mukhopadhyay said the wounded person’s injuries are not life-threatening. She did not know how many officers were involved.