Front Range Situation Report | 06.18.2025
Your Weekly Forward-Looking Intelligence Brief from The CP Journal's Watch Office
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Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
Here are the highlights of the week ahead. Scroll down for a deeper analysis and the sources of information for any specific section:
🌡️Weather: Hot and mainly dry conditions will define the Front Range this week, with a significant heat wave elevating heat-health concerns. Apart from an early-week storm episode, the region faces a quiet weather pattern, so attentions shift to heat readiness and initial wildfire prevention. Agencies should remain vigilant for increasing fire danger and disseminate heat safety messaging.
🫣Safety & Security: The Front Range enters the week with a generally stable public safety outlook: no major protests are expected and planned events should be well-managed. Stay alert though for emergent protests in the wake of the “No Kings” protests, immigration action, hate-based violence, and abortion-oriented activism this week.
🙈Health & Medical: The risk environment is stable, with routine summer hazards. No immediate severe threats, but remain alert for any changes (e.g., rising WNV activity or new disease clusters).
📱Cybersecurity: The Colorado Front Range faces an elevated cyber threat environment this week, driven by national-level ransomware and data breach activity (see detailed analysis), even though no new local incidents were detected. Key sectors should remain on guard.
⚠️Critical Infrastructure: The Front Range faces a moderate CI risk this week. Ongoing impacts from recent severe weather (power outages, landslide-related highway closures) and the onset of wildfire season keep the risk above moderate.
Remember: this report is intended for situational awareness, and readers should validate any information before acting.
In-Depth Analysis
Weather | Risk Level: Elevated & ↑
🥵Official 7‑Day Outlook
Here are your detailed forecasts: Area Forecast, Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins
A summer ridge brings mostly sunny skies and a major heat wave late this week. After isolated severe storms early in the week, expect a sharp warming trend: highs in the mid-90s to low 100s by Thursday–Saturday across the Denver Metro (near record territory).
By Monday (June 23), a slight cool-down (mid-80s) and a return of isolated thunderstorms are possible as a weak trough edges in.
🌡️Watches & Warnings
No widespread long-duration alerts are in effect as of June 17.
Looking ahead, Heat Advisories may be needed late week if urban heat indices spike, and the NWS will monitor for Red Flag Warnings – currently, critical fire weather is confined to southern Colorado (e.g. Red Flag Warning in the Upper Arkansas Valley on June 17) and not yet issued for the Front Range urban corridor.
🌵Looking Ahead
Earlier this week, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch covered parts of the northeast plains (Adams, Weld, etc.) through Tuesday morning that brought large hail up to baseball-size on the plains (e.g. near Fort Morgan). These storms have since diminished.
Long-range outlooks suggest the Front Range will enter an extended hot, dry period that favors above-normal temperatures through late June into early July.
Precipitation is forecast to remain below normal – the summer monsoon typically arrives in July, and until then the Front Range may see below-average rainfall.
The National Interagency Fire Center’s outlook calls for above-normal wildfire potential expanding into Colorado in July. nifc.gov.
🔥Anniversaries
Waldo Canyon Fire. This week marks the anniversary of one of Colorado’s most destructive wildfires, which ignited near Colorado Springs on June 23, 2012. The fire forced 32,000 evacuations and destroyed 346 homes, killing 2 people. Burning 18,247 acres, it was the state’s most destructive wildfire at that time (surpassed one year later by the Black Forest Fire).
Safety & Security | Risk Level: Moderate & ↓
🪧Upcoming Protests and Rallies
No Major Actions Planned: Following last weekend’s nationwide “No Kings” protests (elaborated on below), no large-scale protests are reported during the upcoming week.
Stay aware for emergent activism, especially for immigration and abortion rights.
🏌🏼♂️A Few Upcoming Events
U.S. Senior Open (June 26-29): The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs is set to host the 45th U.S. Senior open for golfers over the age of 50.
Denver PrideFest (June 28–29): One of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ Pride festivals will occur at Civic Center Park in late June, drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees. A Pride parade is set for June 29 through downtown Denver.
Standing Advisory: While planning for July 4th celebrations, this DHS and FBI advisory warns that large-scale events could be targets for violence this summer.
👑Significant Incidents
“No Kings” Protests: Colorado saw large anti-authoritarian “No Kings” protests on June 14, part of a nationwide action. Across Colorado, thousands rallied. A few days prior, protesters attempting to block I-25 were dispersed by police with smoke canisters and pepper balls.
🏥Anniversaries
Alan Berg Assassination: Talk radio host Alan Berg was shot dead by members of white supremacist group “The Order” outside his Denver home on June 18, 1984. This event, 41 years ago this week, remains a touchstone in Colorado for the threat of domestic extremist violence against public figures.
Roe v. Wade Overturned: The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision (June 24, 2022) ended federal abortion protections, sparking mass protests nationwide. Colorado saw large peaceful demonstrations in Denver and Boulder that day. The anniversary continues to galvanize both pro- and anti-abortion groups, and authorities should remain alert for rallies or counter-protests around this date.
Health & Medical | Risk Level: Low & →
😷Disease Outbreak Status
Respiratory Viruses: Levels of COVID-19, RSV, and the flu are all “very low” across Colorado.
Measles: A new measles case was detected in a vaccinated Boulder/Denver area adult who travelled to Europe. The link provides details on the infected person’s known exposure locations.
West Nile Virus: There have been no West Nile Virus cases in Colorado yet this year. However, summer mosquito season is beginning; residents should eliminate standing water and use repellent.
🙈Public Health Emergencies
No Ongoing Formal Local Declarations: Aside from the national opioid emergency, there are currently no active formal public health emergency declarations in the Front Range region.
🌲Environmental Health
Air Quality: Summer ozone season has begun along the Front Range. An Ozone Action Day Alert was issued on June 16 for the Denver-Boulder-Ft. Collins corridor due to hot, stagnant conditions driving ozone into “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” levels.
Allergens: Forecast is for tree pollen to be “high,” ragweed to be “low,” grass to be “low-to-moderate,” and mold to be “low-to-moderate.”
💉Looking Ahead
Immunization Campaigns: To be determined, but we will update once there is clarity.
🔥Anniversaries
Cuyahoga River Fire: 56 years ago, on June 22, 1969, a polluted oil-slicked river in Cleveland ignited, burning for about 30 minutes. This modest fire (no photos exist due to its short duration) became an icon of environmental neglect after national media coverage. Public outrage from the Cuyahoga River fire helped spur the creation of the EPA (est. 1970) and the first Earth Day in April 1970. It’s remembered as a turning point in U.S. water pollution control.
Cybersecurity | Risk Level: Elevated & →
📞A Few Past‑Week Cyber Incidents
Local Cyber Incidents: No known cyber incidents were publicly reported in the Colorado Front Range region last week.
AT&T & T-Mobile Data Leaks: A massive data leak of ~86 million AT&T customer records (including ~44 million Social Security numbers) was reported on dark web forums. Hackers claimed a fresh breach of 64 million T-Mobile customer records (with extensive personal data), though T-Mobile denied the dataset’s origin.
Food Distributor Attack: United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), a major food distributor, suffered a cyberattack disrupting grocery deliveries nationwide.
Local Government Attacks: In the public sector, a North Carolina city (Thomasville) and a Georgia district attorney’s office (Ogeechee Circuit) had to revert to offline operations after ransomware attacks on their networks, impacting essential services to their communities. Note: budget concerns prevented the Ogeechee Circruit from preparing for this threat.
Washington Post Journalist Emails Breached: The Wall Street Journal disclosed a cyber intrusion into several journalists’ email accounts (suspected foreign espionage as the targets were national security and economic teams reporting on China) that forced a company-wide password reset.
🏭Current Threats
Potential Cybersecurity Impacts of the Conflict in the Middle East. The Agriculture and Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Centers issued a joint statement this week encouraging companies to prepare for the likelihood of increased cyber attacks from Iran targeting U.S. companies.
State-Sponsored Activity: Chinese state-linked hackers (e.g. APT41) and others continue to target U.S. critical infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare, and government entities, often dovetailing with geopolitical tensions. Phishing and social engineering remain prevalent as attack vectors across all sectors.
Remote Access Tools Vulnerability: CISA warned that ransomware gangs are actively exploiting flaws in remote management tools (SimpleHelp). The vulnerabilities has been used since January to breach downstream customers, including U.S. retail chains.
💣Anniversaries
Stuxnet: In line with this week’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, this week also marks 15 years since the discovery of Stuxnet (June 2010), the pioneering cyber weapon that infiltrated Iran’s nuclear facilities and alerted the world to industrial control system attacks.
Critical Infrastructure | Risk Level: Moderate & →
🔌Utility Status
Power: Xcel Energy restored a June 10–11 outage that left over 10,000 Denver metro customers without electricity (cause under investigation). No significant new outages are reported in the Front Range; fewer than 700 customers (<0.05%) statewide were without power as of June 17.
Water: No major water or wastewater disruptions reported.
🪨Transportation Disruptions
U.S. 6 Loveland Pass (Clear Creek/Summit Co. line) is closed indefinitely after a June 15 mountainside landslide ~100 feet wide and 15–20 feet deep. Cleanup is on hold until the slope stabilizes. Hazardous-material trucks that normally use Loveland Pass are being held and escorted through the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 at the top of each hour.
US-24 (Ute Pass) between El Paso and Teller Counties will have intermittent single-lane closures for rockfall mitigation. Eastbound lane work is scheduled 9 a.m.–3 p.m. on June 16–18 and again June 23–25, with head-to-head traffic control and speed reduced to 35 mph through the work zone.
🪧Supply‑Chain Alerts
Safeway Grocery Workers Strike: Unionized Safeway grocery workers launched limited strikes on June 15 at three Colorado stores (Estes Park, Fountain, Pueblo) and a Denver distribution center, protesting understaffing and benefits cuts. The strikes are targeted and short-term; grocery supply impacts have been minimal.
Freight & Fuel: No major freight disruptions reported. Railroads (BNSF, UP) and trucking routes along I-25/I-70 are running normally. Fuel pipelines and terminals in the region report normal operations with adequate gasoline and diesel supply (no shortages or rationing). Wholesale fuel prices remain stable.
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