Jefferson County Public Health released the following information and advice:

Smoke from wildfires is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials. Smoke can hurt your eyes, irritate your respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases.

How to tell if smoke is affecting you
Smoke can cause— Coughing, a scratchy throat, irritated sinuses, shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches, stinging eyes, runny nose, asthma exacerbations, if you have heart or lung disease, smoke might make your symptoms worse.

People who have heart disease might experience—

• Chest pain, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, fatigue

Smoke may worsen symptoms for people who have pre-existing respiratory conditions, such as respiratory allergies, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in the following ways:

DENVER — A panel of state lawmakers gave the go-ahead Monday night to the most controversial criminal justice bill of the legislative session, despite strong opposition from several of the state’s top prosecutors who don’t want to lose their ability to file the cases of teenage offenders straight into the adult prison system.

House Bill 1271, which would strip prosecutors of having sole discretion over whether to charge, try and sentence teenage offenders as adults and put the decision in the hands of a judge instead, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday night after several hours of testimony.

The vote was 5-2.

In a last stand of sorts, prosecutors spent several hours arguing in favor of keeping the current system in place and fighting against the notion that prosecutors were abusing the system.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. –The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says one person has died as a result of the Lower North Fork Fire.

“The fatality is being investigated by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office,” a statement said late Monday night. Details of the death were not released.

Fire crews poured into the region overnight to help battle the wildfire that destroyed houses and forced residents of more than 900 homes to evacuate. Additional evacuations were possible, especially south of Hwy. 285.

The wind-fueled Lower North Fork Fire exploded in southwestern Jefferson County Monday, possibly destroying 20 homes according to the Denver Post.

The fire continued to burn out of control early Tuesday and firefighters said it continued to move after midnight. 20-30 mile an hour winds continued into the early morning hours.

DENVER – The Luck of the Irish wasn’t so lucky for 424 Colorado drivers who were busted for drunk driving over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday weekend.

“We had a record number of officers on our roads looking for impaired drivers over the holiday weekend,” said Colonel James Wolfinbarger, Chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “Despite all of our efforts, unfortunately three people were killed due to impaired driving. No matter what time of the year impaired driving will not be tolerated and you will be arrested.”

The highest arrests occurred in Denver (48), Colorado Springs (36) and Aurora (29). There were four traffic fatalities over the holiday weekend, three were alcohol-related.

For arrest numbers of other agencies, visit www.HeatIsOnColorado.com.

DENVER – Interstate-25 was closed overnight between Interstate-70 and Speer Boulevard as crews demolished the 15th Street bridge over I-25.

The interstate reopened at 10 a.m.

“The good news is that the bridge demolition over I-25 is complete and there will no longer be a full closure of I-25 tonight,” said CDOT spokeswoman Mindy Crane. “Lane closures are still possible from 7p tonight until 530a tomorrow.”

Delays are expected, but work is expected to be done by 5:30 a.m. Monday for the morning commute.

Alternate routes are Federal Blvd and I-70.

For more information, visit cotrip.org