The Lake Christine Fire forced almost 2,000 mid-valley residents to flee their homes on the Fourth of July. Firefighters battled the flames, and, after several days, evacuees returned to houses littered with ash.

The Aspen Art Museum is marking the third iteration of its yearlong exhibit "Ritual" Tuesday night with an event called a "sound bath." It’s part concert, part meditation.

Lydia Millet is an American novelist and conservationist. She has written twelve works of fiction and four books for young adults.  Her third novel, My Happy Life, won the 2003 PEN Center USA Award for Fiction, and she has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize as well as a Guggenheim fellow, among other honors. Her latest work is a short story collection called Fight No More.  

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes: http://apple.co/1HCVfjA

Update: July 16, 6:56 a.m.: The Lake Christine Fire is 6,822 acres and 59 percent contained. Weather conditions Sunday, including cooler temperatures and isolated showers, helped to moderate fire behavior. 

As the Lake Christine Fire continues to burn along the upper stretches of Missouri Heights, a handful of firefighters watched pink clouds of smoke billow on the hillside across from Spring Park Reservoir.

You know the song from the days you watched Bugs Bunny cartoons. You can listen to the famous tune right here, and you can enjoy the entire opera, Rossini's timeless Barber of Seville, live from the Wheeler Opera House on Aspen Public Radio Monday, July 16 at 8:00 pm with host Chris Mohr. Broadcast with the help of the Aspen Music Festival and School. It's funny, it's beautiful, and it is a great chance to enjoy hearing  youth and love win out over power and corruption!

Jane Parnell was the first woman to climb the 100 highest peaks in Colorado, an experience she details in her memoir. As Christin Kay reports, she’ll be discussing the book in the Roaring Fork Valley this week.