Monthly Archives: July 2020

Pence also suggested emergency room visits are beginning to drop off in Arizona and Florida. But Arizona state data shows that key metric continuing to climb. A record 2,008 suspected or confirmed coronavirus patients were seen Tuesday.

In Florida, more than 223,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed and nearly 17,000 patients have been hospitalized, according to the Florida Department of Health. Many hospitals in the state are running out of intensive care unit beds, according to data from the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

And while Floridas positivity test rate does appear to be growing at a slower pace, the seven-day moving average stands at about 19 percent, according to Johns Hopkins Universitys data dashboard. Texas testing positivity rate has remained steady over the past few weeks at around 14 percent.

Trump's own health officials have suggested a positivity rate below 10 percent is desirable, though other public health experts say the goal should be 5 percent or lower.

Pence made the comments as President Donald Trump and others in his administration push to reopen schools in the fall. Public health experts have expressed concerns with moving forward with cases on the rise in most states and the U.S. total surpassing 3 million on Wednesday.

Birx, Pence and Trump have all touted a lower coronavirus mortality rate in recent days, but public health experts including NIH infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci have cautioned deaths are a lagging indicator.

"It's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death," Fauci said during a live stream Tuesday with Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.).

Birx, during Wednesday's briefing, advised Americans in states that have seen a sudden rise in cases to return to the earliest phase of reopening guidelines, which include avoiding gatherings of more than 10 people and the wearing of face coverings. She praised governors in Arizona, Florida and California for shutting down bars and reinstating social distancing orders.

We are really asking American people in those counties, in those states, to not only use face coverings, not go to bars ... but really not gather in homes either, Birx said.

CDC Director Robert Redfield said his agency would be releasing additional guidance next week on how schools can safely reopen in the fall, just hours after Trump on Twitter criticized his agencys initial guidelines for schools as tough and expensive.

We will continue to develop and evolve our guidance to meet the needs of the schools in the states that we continue to provide that assistance to, Redfield said. He declined to answer whether his agency is revising guidance in response to the presidents criticism.

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Pence touts progress in Covid-19 hot spots amid a surge of cases - POLITICO

The Gallant Charge of the Fifty Fourth Massachusetts (Colored) Regiment, on the Rebel works at Fort Wagner, Morris Island near Charleston, July 18th 1863, and Death of Colonel Robert G. Shaw, Currier and Ives(Keith Lance/Getty Images)It is remarkable, and it continues

There are two things that I believe to be true. First, that America has a long history of brutal and shameful mistreatment of racial minorities with black Americans its chief victims. And second, that America is a great nation, and that American citizens (and citizens of the world) should be grateful for its founding. Perhaps no nation has done more good for more people than the United States. It was and is a beacon of liberty and prosperity in a world long awash in tyranny and poverty.

In much of our modern political discourse, it seems to be taken as a given that the existence of one truth has to negate the other. A nation simply cant be great and also inflict such immense pain and suffering on so many millions of black and brown citizens.

And so the public debate warps and twists. Speak about the greatness of the nation, and critics immediately accuse you of minimizing the undeniably hideous sin of white supremacy. Emphasize white supremacy, and opponents will accuse you of minimizing the immense sacrifices of black and white soldiers in the Union Army, the undeniable progress in civil rights since Jim Crow, and the obvious fact that black and brown citizens from across the globe flock to our shores in search of the American dream.

Lets dodge that back-and-forth and go back and ask two more-fundamental questions. What is the nature of man? And what does that nature imply for the history of nations and cultures? Absent truthful answers to those questions, its not possible to accurately analyze a nations worth. And the answers are grim.

Human beings, to quote no lesser authority than Jesus Christ, are evil. As G. K. Chesterton observed, original sin is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved. It doesnt take a historian to know that a survey of human civilization over the ages leads us to conclude that social justice has been hard to find. Indeed, there isnt even a straight line between, say, Athenian democracy and American liberty, or the Magna Carta and the American Constitution. Instead, there were times when three steps forward were followed by nine steps back.

The American republic was thus founded against the backdrop of millennia of conquest, oppression, slavery, monarchy, and tyranny all of it an expression of humanitys dark nature. That doesnt mean there werent pockets of virtue or periodic prophetic condemnations of wickedness, but the presence of evil in human affairs has been persistent and often overpowering.

Noting that the evils of slavery and conquest have been pervasive doesnt make them less evil. It does, however, help us to explain our appreciation for the American founding and the trajectory of the American nation.

That founding and that trajectory were hardly inevitable. Indeed, the introduction of slavery to our shores in 1619 showed that there was nothing particularly special about our new civilization. It was more of the dreary human same. The signing of the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Constitution (and the Bill of Rights) were, by contrast, remarkable. They marked the beginning of something new.

Its important to emphasize the word beginning. Ive been struggling to think of the right analogy to describe the role of the American founding in world history. Lets try a term from counterinsurgency warfare: the ink blot.

In counterinsurgency warfare, the strategist looks at a nation or countryside in chaos one thats descending into a state of nature and attempts to establish an island of safety and security. The purpose is for that island of safety and security to spread across the map the way an ink blot spreads across the paper.

The American founding declared universal principles: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. But then its constitution and laws granted only a particularized and narrow defense of those rights.

Even the Bill of Rights, sweeping in its language, was extraordinarily limited in its scope. It originally restrained only the actions of a small and relatively weak central government. The ink blot of liberty was tiny. The only people who could confidently assert those universal rights were a small class of white male property owners clustered on the Eastern Seaboard of the new United States.

Everyone else, to a greater or lesser extent, lived still within the ordinary state of nature, with slaves, as always, the most vulnerable of all. But the combination of a universal declaration of liberty and the obvious joy and prosperity of its exercise created an unbearable tension within the new nation. There was a tension between our founding ideals and our founding reality.

Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner, understood this tension. These words, adapted from his writings, are engraved on Panel Three of the Jefferson Memorial:

God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free.

It is absolutely true that too many of those Americans who enjoyed the blessings of liberty did not ponder the question Frederick Douglass posed: What to the slave is the Fourth of July? Too many, once they cashed in their own promissory note of freedom, did not concern themselves with those who were still owed a debt of liberty. But in every generation, there were Americans white and black, slave and free who sought to close the gap between promise and reality.

And make no mistake, in the face of often violent resistance, the American promise is prevailing. The ink blot of liberty is spreading, blotting out the default human background of oppression and misery. Critically, that ink blot has jumped our borders. The mightiest military power in the history of the world has used its strength to defeat the worlds worst tyrannies, secure the existence of liberal democracies from Japan to Germany, and then maintained a long and prosperous peace.

But its a mistake to think that our chief task is to point backwards, to look at the immense gap between slavery and freedom, between Jim Crow and civil rights, and believe that our work has been done. One does not undo the consequences of 345 years of legalized oppression in a mere 56 years of contentious change. Instead, our task is to continue the struggle to match American principles with American reality. Its to spread the ink blot to continue the American counterinsurgency against the chaos of history.

In July of every year, I think of two seminal infantry charges. The first occurred on July 2, 1863, when Colonel Joshua Chamberlain led the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment on a desperate counterattack against Confederate troops on Little Round Top on perhaps the most fateful day in American history day two of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The second charge happened just 16 days later, when the 54th Massachusetts Infantry launched its own desperate attack against the walls of Fort Wagner in South Carolina. The 54th was a black regiment, and its charge was a direct and physical manifestation that Americas black citizens were rising up to seize their inheritance.

The lesson of those two historic moments has been repeated time and again throughout American history. It took white Americans and black Americans to end slavery and not through a revolt against the Founding but rather through a defense of the Founding. It took white Americans and black Americans to end Jim Crow. Again, not through a revolt against the Founding but rather through a defense of the Founding. Through appeals to Americas founding promise, every marginalized American community has muscled its way into more-complete membership in the American family.

Its right to celebrate a nation that has over time combined courageous people with righteous principles to secure a more perfect union. Light the fireworks. Defend the monuments to the imperfect (though indispensable) people who in their turn and their time advanced human liberty and dignity.

Its most important, however, that we run the race in our turn, that we look forward so that future generations can look back and say of us that we didnt simply secure and maintain the gains of the past we made our own payments on that promissory note of freedom. We continued to close the gap between American principles and American reality. We have far to go, but the courageous history of this great nation should give us confidence that the best part of the American story is yet to be told.

This article appears as On Racial Progress in the July 27, 2020, print edition of National Review.

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America & Race: The Progress & the Task Ahead - National Review

Posted: Jul 11, 2020 / 01:18 PM EDT / Updated: Jul 11, 2020 / 06:12 PM EDT

(WSYR-TV) For the first time since March 18, COVID-19 hospitalizations dipped below 800 on Friday, as New York State continues to make progress in the fight against coronavirus.

New York continues to reach encouraging milestones regarding the coronavirus, as the data released on Saturday shows 799 people are currently hospitalized throughout the state with COVID-19. This is the lowest number of coronavirus hospitalizations in the state since March 18.

Tragically, six more New Yorkers lost their lives to COVID-19 on Friday, but the three-day average death toll is the lowest the state has seen since March 16.

Below is the COVID-19 data from Friday that was released by the New York State Health Department on Saturday.

New York State confirmed 730 new coronavirus cases on Friday, which is about 1.05% of the people that were tested.

Each regions percent of positive tests over the last three days can be found below.

In total, there have been over 400,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York State.

Although New York State is making great progress in the fight against COVID-19, the story is much different in other parts of the country.

For more coronavirus data, click here.

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New York State continues to make progress in the fight against COVID-19, hospitalizations dip below 800 - WSYR

Thursday morning, the World Meteorological Organization released a report projecting that there is a one in five chance of global temperatures rising by 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in the next five years, a line beyond which millions of livelihoods will become unviable and homes uninhabitable. In the midst of a summer that has already seen Siberia on fire, the prediction felt more than plausible.

The day before, a group of Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders advisers focused on projecting unity in the Democratic Party released 110 pages worth of policy recommendations, starting with climate policy. The persistent sit-ins, climate strikes, and insurgent candidate success stories of the past four years seem to have accomplished this much: The policy recommendations contained in this document, like just about every other climate plan to emerge from mainstream nodes of the Democratic Party in the last year, are orders of magnitude more sweeping than anyone, even Sanders, would have thought possible in 2016. Thanks doubtless to the influence of the Sunrise Movements Varshini Prakash, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and other left-leaning members of the unity advisers climate segment, the documents climate goals are ambitious: zeroing out building and power sector emissions by 2030 and 2035, respectively; an embrace of environmental justice principles and targeted investments in this countrys most vulnerable communities; installing 500 million solar panels in five years; the creation of a Cabinet position for emissions reductions. Encouragingly, climate also makes an appearance in the recommendations of the economy and immigration recommendations.

Still, the recommendations for phasing out fossil fuels remain weak. The plan doesnt fully grapple with the crisis now gripping oil and gas companies and the financial sector that supports them. Few international commitments are suggested, leaving the United States to eat up most of the worlds remaining carbon budget.

The plans are better than they were. The plans are not enough. What are the plans for?

Though its ostensibly my job to analyze these kinds of climate plans on their own terms, the whole exercise is starting to feel pretty pointless. Documents like the task force recommendationslike presidential campaign platforms or the House Committee on the Climate Crisis reportreally only indicate where were starting from. So far, all the plans on offer will likely produce warming greater than two degrees Celsius. And thats a relatively rosy scenario.

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The Limits of Democrats' Climate Progress - The New Republic

MCPS superintendent calls for greater urgency, purpose in eradicating racism

By Jack Smith

| Published: 2020-07-11 00:49

Most years, I spend the Fourth of July holiday enjoying the company of my family and friends; watching the joy on a grandchilds face during a fireworks display; and reflecting on my whereabouts during the many July 4 holidays Ive experienced.

This year, my social time was distanced; fireworks shows were canceled; and I was thinking of a specific July 4 in Montgomery County history I recently read about the day the last recorded lynching took place not far from where I now sit in Rockville as the superintendent of schools.

Recently, a colleague shared with me that the location of the current MCPS central office building on Hungerford Drive and Mannakee Street is close to the location of the last lynching in our county. I was forwarded an article from The Washington Post that shared the details of this horrible event.

According to the article, on July 4, 1896, a lynch mob of 20 to 30 masked men brutally killed Sidney Randolph, a 28-year-old Black man. Mr. Randolph was accused of killing a 7-year-old white girl.

The article goes on to say that the evidence against Mr. Randolph was circumstantial and conflicting, and that he lacked a motive to commit the crime. Yet, police arrested him and a mob saw fit to hang him from a chestnut tree.

While this horrific lynching occurred more than a century ago, my heart sank and my anger was intense as if it had just happened. My thoughts raced forward in time to the 2020 killings of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd.

In the last 124 years, we have traveled to the bottom of the ocean and into space; created the internet; and sequenced the human genome. Yet, as a country, we are still unable to protect, value and respect the life and liberty of Black Americans, specifically Black men.

I believe Montgomery County has made progress toward this goal by being on the forefront of desegregation of schools in the 1950s; by years of equity policies and initiatives in the school system; and by the countys passage of a Racial Equity and Social Justice law in 2019.

However,recent social media posts from students of color in our school system that detail their experiences with racism and bias in our schools are a stark reminder that there is much more work to be done. In some of these posts, students shared allegations of bias, stereotyping and racism at the hands of their peers and, more disturbingly, our staff members.

I am grateful to those who stepped forward to share their painful, personal stories. They help us do the work that must be done.

Many of the experiences highlighted in the social media posts reflect what research has confirmed implicit bias exists across the educational spectrum, including preschool. The research also shows that this bias can contribute to disparities in academic outcomes for students of color.

I have no reason to believe that students and educators in our county are immune. Moreover, we know that public education institutions, including MCPS, have only taught a small fraction of what students should know about the Black experience in the United States, including the barriers that exist to full access and opportunity in education.

The good news is we know that bias can be interrupted and curricula can be enhanced to achieve these goals. The MCPS staff is working to enhance our mandatory equity and cultural proficiency training and practices. Work is underway to integrate cultural proficiency and implicit bias training with effective instructional practice and sound content knowledge into all professional learning experiences.

By changing the experience of our students of color through culturally responsive relationships and expanding learning opportunities, we can truly unleash the potential of our students.

Additionally, we have made significant changes to our elementary and middle school literacy and math curricula. Next, we must work on high school literacy, as well as social studies and other curricula at all levels. Providing curricula that meet the needs of our students and creating equitable access and opportunity across the system must continue to be the priority.

While we have made progress in many areas, we must work with a greater sense of urgency and purpose. I am not naive, but I am committed. We will not be able to eradicate racism overnight.

Based on the story of Sidney Randolph and the aforementioned social media posts, racism and bias have long roots. But I believe we can and must move the needle quickly.

I expect to see serious progress toward all of our students feeling valued and learning at their full potential by the time July 4 arrives next year. We cannot wait another century for change.

Jack Smith is the superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools.

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Opinion: We need 'serious progress toward all of our students feeling valued and learning at their full potential' - BethesdaMagazine.com

Despite recent progress, too many people in Sri Lanka are at risk of being left behind due to a lack of access to water and sanitation.

Thats why the Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project (WaSSIP) aims to extend access and improve hygiene behavior for nearly 700,000 people.

Community Based Organizations have been key partners every step of the way.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemichas reinforced the need for safe drinking water, the benefits of sanitation and the importance of good hygiene behaviors at all times. Even in countries that have already made great strides in these areas, providing treated piped water and extending safely managed sanitation to every household is more vital now than ever.

Thats why Sri Lankas Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project (WaSSIP) works to extend access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and improved hygiene behavior for nearly 700,000 people in urban, rural and estate areas in seven districts in Sri Lanka. It aims to reach those in danger of being left out of the progress made in recent years and potentially being left even further behind by the pandemics devastating impacts.

WaSSIP is Sri Lankas third project financed by the World Bank since 1998 to provide drinking water and sanitation. It finances new water supply systems, rehabilitation of existing water supply systems, toilets for households and schools, and septage treatment plants.

Community Based Organizations (CBOs) play a key role in delivering this project. In Sri Lanka, the World Bank has worked with CBOs for decades and this experience has shown that when given access to information, and appropriate technical and financial support, CBOs can effectively deliver basic services.

To ensure sustainability, local CBOs are trained to operate and maintain the water supply systems. Each household agrees to pay a tariff that ensures that operation, maintenance and replacement costs can be covered. This allows repairs to be made as soon as something goes wrong.

A database is being developed that shows all the rural water supply systems in the country. This database allows the Department of National Community Water Supply to track the performance of CBOs and provide CBOs with the information and support that they need. A 24-hour call center has been established, where anyone can call or text for advice or to lodge a complaint for CBO-managed water supply systems.

As a trusted part of the social fabric, CBOs are well-equipped to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic even in remote areas. The residents of Rideepana a small village located in a highland area were under curfew with limited ability to travel. It was a tough situation - financially and practically, with no water to consume on certain days, as one resident put it. However, due to the collaborative work between CBOs, the authorities and a nearby water plant, these villagers can now access clean water with which to wash their hands.

Elsewhere in Sri Lanka, a CBO that oversees a water plant funded through WaSSIP is providing water to households with motors in the areas of Polgahapitiya and Raththandeniya. This was initiated at the request of the District Secretariat for these areas to help minimize the gathering of crowds. Not only has it helped to flatten the potential curve, it has also instilled good sanitary practices amongst the community.

Changing behaviors to encourage improved hygiene practices is a key element of this project. Around 900 hygiene awareness trainings been conducted so far. Over 100,000 people have attended - 64% of them female in rural areas and 80% of them female in estate areas. Messages have been specifically developed and targeted to encourage different types of behaviors. Resources have been provided in local languages to ensure their relevance and effectiveness. And hygiene programs have been rolled out in schools so young people can share what they learned with their friends and families.

Eight schools have also been provided with improved sanitation facilities, including menstrual hygiene facilities the first from a World Bank-funded project in Sri Lanka. Being able to manage their menstruation safely, hygienically, and with confidence and dignity is critical not just for girls health and education, but also for economic development and overall gender equality.

As of June 2020, WaSSIP has:

Completed 42 new rural water supply schemes benefiting 13,538 households (with another 51 under construction)

Completed seven plantation water supply schemes connecting 2493 households (with another seven under construction)

Completed 93 system rehabilitations

Completed 13,362individual toilets (with another 10,119 under construction)

From its inception in 2015 to its closing, WaSSIP will ultimately benefit nearly three-quarters of a million people across the seven districts, including Menaka from Nartakande in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Menaka is from a family of five, all of whom have suffered from lack of access to clean water. The basic washing and cleaning necessities of her family previously meant an arduous 500-meter walk to collect water. However, thanks a new water plant funded by the World Bank and operated through a CBO - Menaka and her family now have access to clean water to drink, bathe and keep their household clean.

The project demonstrates a successful model of service delivery that can be continued to deliver universal access to water supply and sanitation for Sri Lanka and showcases the importance of partnerships with community organizations.

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Partnerships for Progress: Working with Communities in Sri Lanka to Provide Water and Sanitation - Sri Lanka - ReliefWeb

More than 6 months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and over 160 days since India reported its first case, the health regulator has approved the first indigenous drug to treat the disease.

Itolizumab is an injectable that can be used only in hospitals and for moderate and severe cases. A single vial costs Rs 8,000 and the treatment will cost Rs 32,000. This is the fifth drug overall to get the green light and the fourth to receive authorisation for emergency use.

So, here is where we stand in treating the disease. Gilead's patented drug Remdesivir is the only drug so far to undergo well designed clinical trials. It is proven to shorten the recovery time but does not cut mortality more data is awaited.

A well-known, inexpensive steroid called Dexamethasone is the only known drug that cuts mortality as per the data currently available. Clinical trials are still ongoing by a study in the UK has shown that it reduces deaths in ICU patients by one-third.

Hydroxychloroquine, which emerged as one of the early drugs to treat the disease, has been hit by one controversy after another. Studies by the WHO have questioned its benefits. The US has revoked its emergency use authorisation and even India has removed the drug from the protocol to treat severe cases. It is currently used as a prophylactic and to treat mild cases.

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COVID-19 and progress in treatments so far; here's experts view - CNBCTV18

The progress of youth darts has not always been plain sailing. Alchohol and licensing arrangements seem to have been a major stumbling block:

Respected London boss Roger Nickson seems to have been a driving force behind getting an official youth league established. Roger now runs the popular Darts from The Past Facebook group. Perhaps Darts World will seek his views on the progress of those he strongly supported.

The accompanying piece regarding the alteration of formats to give players more time on the oche is another age-old debate. Here it looks well-intentioned in order that young players could gain more experience.

The coverage given here to the A.G.M of the BDO speaks to the importance of the organisation at that time. Sadly, some of the views displayed seem to foreshadow later difficulties.

It should not be overlooked that until very recently the BDO was the driving force behind youth darts, many counties had volunteers who gave time and money to ensure that young players had a way to learn and progress into the other areas of the game. Senior pros from those areas also often helped out. Wiltshires youth was a fine example of this with Steph Venn, Mark Thompson, Dennis Smith, and others, encouraging and developing a fine batch of players. Occasionally they may have even been visited by Bob Anderson.

The Darts World Years continueshereand over in theTwitterverse.

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1983 - Issue 131: Youth League Progress Blocked At AGM. - Andy Till

HOUSTON The Texas Supreme Court on Monday upheld Houston's refusal to allow the state Republican convention to hold in-person events in the city due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The court dismissed an appeal of a state district judges denial of a temporary restraining order sought by the state Republican Party. Shortly after the ruling, GOP leaders said they would call a meeting of the party's executive committee to "finalize our path forward." After the Supreme Court's ruling, a state judge in Harris County separately denied the party's request for an injunction allowing the convention to go forward.

The state GOP convention had been scheduled to begin Thursday at Houstons downtown convention centre and was expected to draw thousands of participants.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, said last week that he had directed city lawyers to terminate the contract because he believed the event could not be held safely. He denied that the convention was cancelled due to political differences and cited the potential risk to service workers and first responders if the virus spread through the convention.

The state party sued a day later, alleging the city illegally breached the contract and accusing Turner of shedding "crocodile tears."

"The Party argues it has constitutional rights to hold a convention and engage in electoral activities, and that is unquestionably true," the Supreme Court wrote in its opinion. "But those rights do not allow it to simply commandeer use of the Center."

State District Judge Larry Weiman last week sided with Turner, citing Houston statistics that show major hospitals exceeding their base intensive-care capacity due to an influx of COVID-19 patients.

Texas has set daily records in recent days for the number of COVID-19 deaths and confirmed cases. Top officials in Houston have called for the city to lock back down as area hospitals strain to accommodate an onslaught of patients.

The Texas Medical Association withdrew its sponsorship of the state GOP convention and asked organizers to cancel in-person gatherings. As the virus has surged throughout the state in June and July, Gov. Greg Abbott, the states top Republican, has reversed some business reopenings and broadly required the use of face masks.

State GOP chair James Dickey had insisted that organizers can hold the event safely. Prior to Turners move to cancel the convention, Dickey said the party had planned to institute daily temperature scans, provide masks, and install hand sanitizer stations.

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Court refuses to order Houston to host Texas GOP gathering - Preeceville Progress

Firefighters expect to continue making progress Friday containing theYMCA fire that has burned nearly 300 acres southwest of Caon City, theBureau of Land Management said.

Firefighters started to take the upper hand Thursday on the lightning-caused fire.

The fire was 30% contained as of 8 p.m. Thursday. Helicopters continued making bucket drops of water through the day to cool off hot spots and hit spots that were inaccessible by ground crews.

Much of the smoke produced on Thursday was from interior fuels, the BLM said, which kept the fire from growing significantly. Overnight, it had grown from about 100 acres to 268 acres. The fire is currently mapped at 293 acres.

Although containment is increasing, smoke and possibly flames will continue to be visible from Caon City and neighboring areas.

The fire was reported about 3:37 p.m. Wednesday on Bureau of Land Management-Royal Gorge Field Office lands. No structures are threatened, no evacuation orders are planned.

According to the Caon City Area Fire Protection District, the fire was in the area of Temple Canyon.

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YMCA fire: Crews making progress on wildfire burning near Caon City - OutThere Colorado