A fire that began on Tuesday and grew to 316 acres south of Rifle near Grass Mesa was contained on Friday.

Garfield County’s longtime sheriff, Lou Vallario, is stepping down at the end of this year, and two Republican candidates — Garfield County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Lt. Brent Baker and Eagle County Undersheriff Dan Loya — are competing to take over his position in the June 30 primary election.

The two Democratic candidates for Eagle County Sheriff agree that the agency lacks structure, but they differ on the details. The winner of the Democratic primary on June 30 will face incumbent Republican James Van Beek in the General Election on Nov. 3.

All evacuations have been lifted related to the Willow Fire in north Rifle, according to Colorado River Fire Rescue. The 10 acre fire damaged an eight-unit apartment building, which is believed to be a total loss.

Firefighters continued making progress on the 20-acre fire east of Ruedi Reservoir Friday, reaching 40% containment. A road closure remains for the general public.

Tina Peters, convicted on several counts and sentenced to nearly nine years in prison, was released early after Gov. Jared Polis commuted her sentence.

Basalt is floating a sales tax increase to fund the construction of a multi-million dollar facility that would combine the police department and all Public Works departments into one building.

A power outage from Glenwood Springs to Silt shut off electricity to thousands Saturday afternoon. Residents reported a flash and a boom near New Castle along a transmission line that afternoon, but as of the evening, Xcel Energy had not confirmed the cause of the outage.

The bill would let Colorado residents sue federal immigration authorities for civil rights violations.

A passenger train struck a semi-tanker truck off Highway 6 just east of Rifle Wednesday morning. The tanker driver sustained minor injuries, but no other injuries were reported.