News in Brief

ASPEN – A hiker who was reportedly lost and injured was brought to safety Wednesday after a rescue team located the person in the Smuggler Mountain area.

The hiker was located at approximately 5:30 p.m. in a drainage below the Balcony Trail, at an elevation of 9,000 feet. The hiker, who had an injured shoulder and suffered from dehydration, was taken to Aspen Valley Hospital.

Mountain Rescue Aspen, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office and Aspen Ambulance were involved in the response.

BASALT – The Basalt Sanitation District has raised the fine for any unauthorized discharge into its system to $5,000 per day.

The district also is seeking the public’s help and offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction of those who have been illegally pumping their wastes into district manholes.

CARBONDALE – The U.S. Forest Service will temporarily restrict vehicular access to Dinkle Lake and the Dinkle Lake Day Use Area to allow some ranch owners to fix a dam.

The Dinkle Lake Dam was constructed in 1943 to store water used by ranchers to irrigate hay pastures. As an extra benefit, the lake provides recreation opportunities in the White River National Forest.

A dam inspection by the state of Colorado in 2009 determined that the structure has numerous problems that need to be fixed if it is to stay in operation. The ranchers that depend on the dam will undertake the project at their own expense, the forest supervisor’s office said.

During construction, Forest Road 311 will be closed to vehicles just beyond the parking lot and trail head for the Thomas Lake Trail, also the route to Mount Sopris and Hay Park. Access to the trail head remains open.

Construction is scheduled to start Monday and continue for two months.