Wildfire grows to 443 acres; evacuations ordered

A wildfire burning in the Interlaken Historic District near Twin Lakes — a popular hiking and camping destination about 22 miles southwest of Leadville — grew to 443 acres and prompted evacuation orders Wednesday.

The Interlaken fire grew from 164 acres Tuesday evening to 443 acres by 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Bureau of Land Management’s wildfire information system. The fire was discovered at 1:44 p.m. Tuesday and is believed to be human-caused, according to the agency.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders for Interlaken and County Road 25 and pre-evacuation orders for Lost Canyon Road from County Road 30 down to Balltown, a small residential area on the east side of Twin Lakes on Tuesday afternoon.

The fire is burning on U.S. Forest Service land, so fire suppression responsibilities have been turned over to the forest service, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.

The Interlaken Historic District buildings were not threatened at press time.

— Lauren Penington, Katie Langford, The Denver Post

NEAR FORT COLLINS

YouTube creator killed in I-25 crash

Popular YouTuber and Windsor resident Ben Potter, who brought comic books to life as audio dramas on his channel Comicstorian, was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 25 near Fort Collins on Saturday.

Potter, 40, was driving south on I-25 near mile 267.5 at 9:19 a.m. when his Toyota 4Runner drove off the right shoulder, crossed the frontage road and rolled several times, the State Patrol said.

Potter was wearing a seatbelt and was the only person in the vehicle, the State Patrol said.

Investigators do not believe drugs, alcohol or excessive speed were factors in the crash.

Comicstorian has more than 3 million subscribers and published nearly 4,000 videos since Potter started posting 10 years ago, according to the channel’s YouTube page.

— Katie Langford, The Denver Post

2 dead, 3 injured

Erie man killed in Missouri car crash

Two people were killed and three injured in a car crash involving three Erie residents on Monday in Missouri, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.

A 16-year-old boy fell asleep while driving a Chevrolet Silverado east on U.S. 50 near Warrensburg, according to a crash report from the Highway Patrol. The Chevrolet traveled off the right side of the road then reentered and crossed U.S. 50 Business, according to the report. The car became airborne and hit a northbound Acura RDX that was stopped at an intersection.

Derek Moffett, 55, of Erie, and Patricia Moffett, 83, of Overland Park, Kan., died at the scene, the report states.

Alexandria Moffett, 19, and a 16-year-old girl who is not being identified because of her age, both from Erie, were flown to Research Medical Center in Kansas City in serious condition, according to the Highway Patrol.

— Julianna O’Clair, The Denver Post

Drunken driver sentenced to 24 years in prison

An Adams County woman has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for a drunken driving crash that killed two people.

Dusti Arensdorf, 43, pleaded guilty to two charges of vehicular homicide and three charges of vehicular assault in April, according to a news release from the 17th Judicial District. The plea dropped multiple counts of reckless driving and driving under the influence from her case.

On May 31, Broomfield District Judge Priscilla Loew sentenced Arensdorf to 24 years in prison followed by three years of parole.

The crash happened on northbound Interstate 25 between 144th Avenue and Colorado 7 about 10:15 p.m. Oct. 6. Shuangyue Chen, 71, and his son were changing their car’s flat tire while stopped along the side of I-25 in Broomfield, the news release stated.

Arensdorf was weaving in and out of traffic at more than 100 mph before she struck the family’s car and those standing outside it.

The crash killed Chen on impact and ejected his daughter-in-law — 35-year-old Yajing Liu — from the parked vehicle, the release stated. Liu was pronounced dead at the scene.

Liu’s husband, who is also Chen’s son, and Liu’s 3-year-old son, who was inside the car, were seriously injured, the DA’s office said. Witnesses noted the smell of alcohol on Arensdorf’s breath. Arensdorf has three prior DUI convictions, according to court records.

— Lauren Penington, The Denver Post