• Lake Powell’s elevation reached 3,530.4 ft on Oct. 9, up from 3,539.5 last week.
• The Fork ran at 97% of average below Maroon Creek and 93% of average at Emma on Oct. 9.
• Maximum air temperature went back to below average as it dropped to 58°F on Oct. 1.

Author Archives: Laurine Lassalle
Laurine Lassalle is Aspen Journalism’s data desk editor, where she works to catalogue and analyze local public data. She also heads our our “Tracking the Curve” project, documenting COVID-19 in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties. She has a master’s degree in data and investigative journalism from UC Berkeley with an emphasis on environmental reporting.
Data dashboard: River levels rose this weekend after recent rainfall
• The Fork ran at 145.5% of average below Maroon Creek and 120% of average near Emma on Oct. 2.
• Lake Powell’s elevation is 4.5 feet from a critical level.
• High air temperature was about five degrees above normal on Sept. 29, while minimum temperature reached 12 degrees above normal.
Data dashboard: Total summer occupancy at Aspen and Snowmass lodges is down from 2021
• The Fork was flowing at 109% of average below Maroon Creek and at 100% of average at Emma on Sept. 25.
• Lake Powell’s elevation has gained about one inch since last week.
Resort communities saw lower COVID-19 death rates than more western rural counties
The impacts of the pandemic have varied widely across the Western Slope, especially between mountain communities with higher infection rates but lower death rates and counties to the west, which saw fewer cases but higher death rates.
Across the Western Slope, pandemic attitudes and responses varied from county to county
Looking at these past 2½ years, a lot has changed regarding what we know about the virus, variants, testing, vaccines and treatment options. Some of the public health policies put in place didn’t always make sense or they felt wrong to some people in these communities. But in those early days, they felt they were doing the best they could with the information they had.
Data dashboard: Local streams are flowing closer to normal
• The Fork ran at 103% of average below Maroon Creek and at 97% of average at Emma on Sept. 18.
• Lake Powell’s elevation has lost about one foot since last week.
• Air temperatures are dropping and air quality was mostly clean last week.
Data dashboard: Smoke from out-of-state wildfires impacts local air quality
• The Fork above Aspen ran at 75% of average Sept. 11 as Cameo call returns.
• Lake Powell’s elevation is down to 3,530 feet or five feet above critical level.
• Air quality in Aspen was “moderate” for three consecutive days last week due to smoke coming from out-of-state wildfires.
Data dashboard: August is the rainiest month of the year so far
• Paid occupancy in Aspen reached 75.5% in July, down from 86.4% last year.
• The Fork ran at 106% of average on Aug. 28 below Maroon Creek, up from 89% last week.
• Lake Powell’s elevation has lost one foot since last week.
Data dashboard: Fork flows above average at Emma, below minimums at Aspen
• The Fork ran at 105% near Emma, 44% in Aspen.
• Lake Powell’s elevation has lost six inches since last week.
• Aspen high temps reached 87°F on Aug. 9, about 10 degrees above normal.
As more sanitation districts test wastewater for COVID-19, questions remain on interpreting the data
“Since April, we’ve seen a disconnect between our incidence rates, our positivity and our wastewater measurements,” Pitkin County epidemiologist Carly Senst told county commissioners July 26. “The wastewater is showing much higher prevalence than what we’re seeing come through.”