Good morning southern Colorado and here's what you need to know on your Monday, July 12.
If you'd like to read the full story, be sure to click on the story headline.
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The El Paso County Fair is happening all this week in Calhan. And today -- it's free to get in.
This year there are more than 200 events and vendors participating in the fair. There are carnival rides, a petting zoo, rodeo events, and even a hypnotist.
The fair is on the rebound, coming back for its 116th year after having to drastically down-size operations in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Learn more: www.elpasocountyfair.com
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We could be in for a home run derby for the history books tonight.
Eight of baseball's great sluggers will be competing for the prestigious title in one of the most hitter-friendly parks.
And the Rockies will be represented among the elite eight. Short stop Trevor Story will be playing with a home-field advantage.
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Penrose EMS in need of volunteers
The future of EMS in Penrose will be addressed tonight after sevices were suspended last month due to staffing shortages and a lack of volunteers.
If you'd like to offer your time to Penrose EMS there will be a meeting tonight at 7pm at Penrose Park for a discussion on how to move forward.
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Smoke across the region from western wildfires
There's a *potential for air quality healthy advisories in our area today due to wildfire smoke coming from other western states.
It could mean folks with sensitive respiratory conditions might need to avoid spending an extended amount of time outdoors.
The National Interagency Fire Center reports 55 active fires in 12 states, all in the western US, including Colorado.
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Get your latest First Alert 5 Weather forecast
We're looking at an active and smoky day across southern Colorado with hot afternoon temperatures. Highs will run into the 80s and 90s today with dry skies for most.
What spotty storms we do see will fall out west and pack a lot more wind than rain. We'll see heavy wildfire smoke today as smoke is pushed in from the north and west. Air quality advisories could be issued in the Denver area, but we may not reach the criteria today in El Paso and Teller counties.
We should start to cool down a bit and bring more rain and storm chances through the extended. Some of the wettest days this week look to be anytime from Wednesday through Friday.
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