Be Prepared - Special Event May 11, 2013

"Be Prepared" is a community event to help people be better prepared to reduce the damage to their property and to increase the odds that their homes can be saved during the upcoming wildfire and flood seasons in the High Park Fire burn area.

The event will address the questions:

• What did we learn from the recent fires?
• What can we expect this year?
• What can we do to be better prepared?
• Who can help us?

Opening Remarks by Larimer County Undersheriff - Bill Nelson

During the event:

• Neighbors, including fire fighters, who lost their homes in the High Park Fire will discuss what they learned and what they would do differently.
• Fire and flood experts Tony Simons with Larimer County, Chief Bob Gann with Rist Canyon, Chief Carl Solley with Poudre Canyon, and District Forester Boyd Lebedawith the Colorado State Forest Service will tell us what to expect in the future.
• Patti Maguire, Firewise Southwest Regional Advisor, Todd Boldt, NRCS District Conservationist, and Mike Hughes, CSFS Asst. District Forester will show attendees how best to be prepared
• Numerous volunteer organizations will introduce themselves, describe what they do, and offer assistance to those in need or who may be in need in the coming years.

PLUS!

An unveiling of a High Park Fire Memorial sculpture created by local sculptors and neighbors, Jackie Sindelar and Chris Gugelman will take place at Mishawaka Amphitheatre at 12:30pm, after the Be Prepared event.  

Losing a home is extremely stressful and costly. Being prepared and taking the steps necessary to reduce that risk, even if no one can guarantee that your home can be saved in every situation, is worth the effort.

“We were better prepared than most. But we were nowhere near as well prepared as we should have been. Or could have been.” – Linda Masterson, author of Surviving Wildfire - A Handbook for Homeowners,lost her home in the Crystal Fire.

When: 
Saturday, May 11, 2013

Where:
Ward Mountain Ranch, 4985 Stove Prairie Rd., Bellvue 80512

Link to MAP

What time:
9 am to Noon

Who is invited:
Everyone interested in wildfire and flooding.

High Park Burned Area Emgency Response (BAER) Report 

The following is the summary of the BAER Report.  

• Click here to view or download the text of the full report with no figures.
• Because of the size of the BAER Report with Figures - we cannot offer it for download.  Instead, here are the figures as seperate files. 
  • Fire area by ownership
  • Soil Burn Severity
  • Soil Burn Severity by Watershed
  • Stream Flow Increase by Watershed
  • Potential Mulching Zones.

HIGH PARK EMERGENCY STABILIZATION BURNED AREA REPORT

SUMMARY

Starting on June 9, 2012 and until containment was achieved on July 1, 2012, the High Park Fire burned over 87,200 acres on multiple land jurisdictions. It is the largest and most destructive fire in the history of Larimer County, destroying 259 homes and cabins and disrupting the lives of hundreds of residents. Potential aftereffects include increased flooding, erosion and threats to human life and safety, property and natural and cultural resources. 

High Park Fire Information

The High Park Fire was started by a lightening strike in the days before June 9.  It became visible as a smoke column in the early hours of June 9 and quickly escalated to the major fire we now know as the High Park fire.  It is not uncommon for lightening fires to smolder for a day or more before becoming active and this was the case for High Park.  In fact, as fire fighters, we expect a fire to become visible 1-3 days after a lightening storm. While we do investigate smoke reports that occur immediately after lightening, we do not let our guard down for days after the storm.  The response to High Park was aggressive and rapid, but the fire behaviour outstriped any abilty to control and we quickly went to an evacuation mode where our focus was getting people out of the way of the spreading fire.

The High Park fire impacted residents in the Rist Canyon VFD area, Glacier View FPD, Poudre Canyon FPD and Poudre Fire Authority.  The map at the right shows a partial boundary of the High Park fire with RCVFD's response area boundary in purple.  Click on the map for an enlargement.  Also shown is the Crystal Fire from last year and the southern edges of the Hewlett Fire.

The fire is now controlled and basically out (though there could be smokes in the interior all summer).  However, the event is not over and the summer is just starting.  The amount of information for victims recovering from the fire is overwhelming and placing it all on the RCVFD website is beyond the resources of the web team (which happens to be the Fire Chief ;-).  Still - we will try to provide links and information as we get it.

Follow the link on the left to High Park articles and High Park Links for more information.

Here are some specifics you may find useful:

• RCVFD Fire report for Insurance: How do you get one? Request a report.
• Structure loss information: How to get official information on your structures.  Request a report.
• Sandbags:  How do you get them and what do you do with them?  Sandbags Articles.
• FAQ: Just some questions I have heard.  (Under Development)
• How do I donate to or support RCVFD.  Supporting RCVFD.
• Resources avaliable from RCVFD for Residents.  

Join us for the 3rd annual RCVFD/Stove Pririe PTO 10K fun run.

Welcome everyone and thank you for your interest in this years Old Flowers Road Family Run!  All proceeds from the run go to benefit the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department and Stove Prairie School and are fully tax deductable.  This years run will take place on August 24th from 8AM to 10AM at 3891 Stove Prairie Rd, Bellvue, CO.  If you are participating, please make sure to arrive by 7:30 to give yourself time to sign in and receive your T-shirt.  Here are some fun facts about our run: