Yesterday, RCVFD responded to a grass fire that was caused by a slash pile from over the weekend being re-ignited by the high winds. This email is not to slap anyone's hands, but to help avoid this happening in the future.

The coals and ashes from burnt slash get protected by the snow and can remain hot in pockets of the pile for several days. When we have technically enough snow to burn, but the forecast is for rapid warming and increased winds over the next few days, it may not be as good a slash-burning day as it seems. Additionally, snow does not extinguish coals as well as liquid water does, because of its lower moisture density. Liquid water penetrates mostly-burned material much more effectively than snow, which tends to go straight from snow to steam without having as much effect on the combusting material.

It has been a tough winter for forest management, and we certainly understand jumping at the first chance to burn slash. But following a few common-sense guidelines beyond the county's regulations can help avoid a dangerous re-ignition:

• Firstly, follow all the rules and regulations set down by the county.


• Don't just look at today's forecast. Look ahead a few days. Is it going to get warm, sunny, and windy? What is today's Winter Wonderland going to look like in a few days?


• Make sure that pile is out cold and dead before you call it quits for the day. RCVFD does a thing called "cold-trailing" which involves inserting our bare hands into the ashes to make sure nothing is hot - obviously do this with caution! - you might be surprised how hot those ashes still are when you think you're "all set".


• Consider using more than just snow to extinguish your pile. If you can reach it with a garden hose - and if the hose won't freeze - that's great. But a few 5-gallon buckets of water help a lot, too. It might take several trips.


• Another thing that we do as a fire department is called a "24-hour check". When there is a small wildland fire, we come back the next day to make sure it is still completely out. Do that with your slash pile, too. Every morning on your way to work, kick the ashes around a bit to make sure they haven't started getting active again. Especially if it's windy like it is now.

Who knows if Mother Nature is going to give us another day to burn this year or not. But these are useful things to keep in mind next year and in the future so that our slash burning ends when we pack it in for the night.

Your Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department is currently developing a new Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and we still need your input.

We’ve received many thoughtful responses so far, and we truly appreciate everyone who has already completed the survey. However, we are still seeking additional participation to ensure the plan reflects the full range of community needs, concerns, and wildfire risks.

If you live within our response area — south of Poudre Canyon, north of Stringtown Gulch, east of Pennock Pass, and west of the bottom of Rist Canyon — we want to hear from you. We especially encourage residents in the Whale Rock area to participate, since we don't have any responses from Whale Rock yet.

The survey will remain open until March 9 and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. Please fill it out here and help us create the strongest possible CWPP for our community!


https://rcvfd.org/cwpp/survey

Help Shape Rist Canyon's Community Wildfire Protection Plan

As you may have seen in the Ristwatch, RCVFD is developing a new Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), and we need your input.

This plan is meant to reflect our community—your needs, your environment, and your wildfire concerns. To support that goal, we’ve created a short survey to gather local perspectives. The survey includes less than 20 questions, takes only 15–30 minutes to complete, and will directly inform the priorities and recommendations in the CWPP.

This survey is for everyone in the RCVFD response area! That includes everyone from the Buckhorn to nearly Poudre Canyon, and from Bellvue to Pennock Pass (see map).

Once you’ve completed the survey, we encourage you to share it with your neighbors. You’re welcome to forward this email or have them scan the QR code below, which links directly to the survey.


https://rcvfd.org/cwpp/survey

Interested in getting more involved? Reply to this email to connect directly with Carol Dollard, RCVFD Assistant Chief and CWPP Committee Chair. She can answer questions and help you find ways to participate in the planning process.

Community input is essential to making this CWPP meaningful and effective. Please consider completing the survey today—your voice matters.

Thank you for your time and involvement.

It is with a heavy heart that we lost Dan Rairdon on January 1. Dan and his family have lived in Rist Canyon for many years. He was the bus driver for all the children of Stove Prairie and Cache La Poudre Jr High for 27 years, and was loved by all. He always greeted you with a smile and a good word. He wasn't just a bus driver as he spoke with the children and often offered advice to them when in conversation. Feel free to join the family for a Celebration of Life on January 19, 10:00 am, at Timberline Church. 2908 S Timberline Rd, Fort Collins.

A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is a document developed primarily by your local fire department in collaboration with County, State, and Federal agencies, as well as the community itself. It serves as a detailed assessment of our current hazards, plans to minimize them as best we can, and outlines for emergency response in the event of wildfire. The CWPP is very important for emergency preparedness throughout our response area, and serves as a gateway to qualifying for a multitude of grants - both to RCVFD and to homeowners.

The last time the greater Rist Canyon community developed a CWPP was in 2010. That document is still available, but in November 2025, we formed a team to update and rewrite the CWPP to reflect our changing community, hazards, needs, and available tools. For more information on this ongoing effort, see the January 2026 Ristwatch for a lot more details. We hope to complete the new CWPP by Spring/Summer 2026.

Update Mar-2026: Thank you to everyone who completed the CWPP Community Survey! The survey ran from Feb 6 through Mar 9, and we got 100 responses from our wonderful community. We are currently digging through the data to make sure the CWPP reflects you! More info coming soon. 

Dear Rist Canyon neighbors,

You are invited to the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department Annual Meeting on Saturday, November 8 from 1 to 4 PM at Stove Prairie Ranch, 9116 Old Flowers Road.

We’ll enjoy a catered lunch together, share updates on this past year and plans for the year ahead, and celebrate the 50th anniversary of RCVFD. All area residents are warmly encouraged to attend.

1–2 PM: Catered lunch and socializing (no potluck)
2–4 PM: Annual business meeting and board election

Please RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We look forward to seeing you there.

Next Thursday, October 30, from 5:30pm - 7:30pm, Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting at the Larimer County Office of Emergency Management, 4872 Endeavor Dr in Johnstown. Several guest speakers of interest to Rist Canyon residents are scheduled, including:

• Michael Conway, Colorado Insurance Commissioner


• Matt McCombs, State Forester and Director of Colorado State Forest Service


• Josh Roberts, Office of Emergency Management


• Dakota Condon, Wildfire Partners Program

This is a unique opportunity for residents of our county to learn about issues related to living in the wildland urban interface and ask questions of their local government partners. See the flyer below for more details.

The October 2025 Ristwatch is now available on the RCVFD website.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s Mountain Festival — what a great day together!

We ended up with a few lost & found items, pictured below. If you see something that’s yours (or know who it belongs to), please send us a message here so we can arrange a time for you to pick it up. The station isn’t manned full-time, so we’ll coordinate a pickup that works. Unclaimed items will be held for two weeks before being donated.

Thanks again for supporting RCVFD and helping make the festival such a fun community event!

Join us for the Stove Prairie Fall Festival Saturday, October 4th from 10-3! It's the school's big fundraiser for the year and a fun filled day for the mountain community! We have a kids carnival with a bouncy house, silent auction with lots of local offerings, vendors, bake sale, food trucks and more! All in support of our little mountain school!

If you are interested in participating, we still have vendor spots available and you can register at stoveprairiepto.org/vendors
We are also still looking for volunteers! If interested you can sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050A49AEA822A3FA7-58237484-stove#/

We hope you can make it!!!