The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for Larimer County at elevations between 6000 and 9000 feet beginning at 10:00 AM tomorrow, Thursday 11/18/2021 until 5:00 AM Friday, 11/19/2021 due to low relative humidity, warm temperatures, and wind.

Winds are expected to be SW 10-15 mph with gusts up to 40 mph and relative humidity will be as low as 5-10%.

Any fire that starts will have the potential to spread rapidly. Extreme fire behavior will be possible.

Also be aware that there is an ongoing wildfire south of Estes Park, the Kruger Fire, that is 147 acres as of this Community Alert. While Kruger is currently no threat to the greater Rist Canyon and Buckhorn Canyon communities, you may see plumes of smoke to the south or smell smoke in the air. With winds increasing tomorrow, this will be even more likely.

Regards,
Jeff Elsner, Chief
Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department

Join us at the American Legion Hall located at Taft Hill and 54G for RCVFD's 2021 Annual Meeting. We will hear from the board of directors about the state of our community fire department, elect a board for next year, and see a visual recap of this year's Mountain Festival. All residents are encouraged to attend, and your vote counts!

Note that there will be NO potluck this year. RCVFD will follow all CDC, CDPH, and Larimer County requirements, which means that masks will be required in indoor settings for all attendees regardless of vaccination status. We chose this venue to have plenty of room to self-distance.

When: Saturday, November 6, 6:00-8:00 PM
Where: American Legion Hall, 2124 CR 54G, Fort Collins

Hi Neighbors,

This Saturday from 10-3 is the Stove Prairie Elementary Fall Festival. Typically it is a Winter Festival, but due to Covid its been moved to the fall and will be held outside. It is the largest fundraiser for the school and all proceeds directly support students and staff. This year, the silent auction is being held online at: https://app.galabid.com/fallfestival2021/items
Please support your local school and spread the word!

Flyer:


We hope to see you there!

In preparation for the 2021 RCVFD Annual Meeting on Nov. 6, please review the 2020 Annual Meeting minutes which are posted on the RCVFD website, select "RCVFD Annual Meeting Minutes" from the "About RCVFD" menu. These minutes from last year will need to be approved this year.

Anyone with questions about the 2020 meeting minutes can email the RCVFD Board Secretary at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Below is a message from Matthew Champa of the US Forest Service.

Ignitions will be conducted today (Oct 5th) and continuing through the week on the Magic Feather RX, north/east of Dowdy Lake and Red Feather Lakes. Briefing on-site at 0900 with plans to light shortly thereafter. Main unit ignitions planned to occur in UNIT 1. See attached map (pdf) for more details.

Based on this message, residents can expect to see smoke in the area of the prescribed burn today and through the rest of the week. Any questions or concerns should be directed to:

Matthew Champa
NZ Prescribed Fire and Fuels Specialist
Forest Service
(970) 692-3654
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The State of Colorado, in collaboration with the US Forest Service, is conducting a pilot project to put internet-enabled cameras at key fire lookout locations around the state. This pilot is intended to test the ability of the cameras and this software to enhance situational awareness on wildfires. The cameras are not capable of doing automated detection of fires on their own, but can be used by a fire manager to get clarity on smoke reports and to monitor fire behavior. RCVFD has just been notified that two of these cameras overlap with our area and are available to the general public, so feel free to check them out!

From the FTS 360 site, you can watch any of the cameras that are in place. For your convenience I have put direct links to the two cameras that are of most interest to Rist Canyon below. In timelapse mode, an hour's worth of still images are run in a loop in about 30 seconds. Use this to see changing conditions over time. In live gallery mode, the camera will auto-update periodically (about 30 seconds) with a new live image. Use this mode to monitor ongoing conditions. DFPC can mask out private structures visible in these cameras, so if you see your house and want it blurred out, let me know and I will forward the request.

• Buckhorn Mountain
• Horsetooth Mountain

Thanks goes to Colorado DFPC, Larimer County, and the USFS for this major addition to the safety toolkits for our community.

Volunteers needed who can move books on 9/9 Thursday afternoon would be greatly appreciated. Meet at Fire Station 1 at 1:00 pm. All strong and muscular men are welcome. Women also welcome.

Carolyn Stanley

Join us for the Rist Canyon Mountain Festival to raise money for the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department. The festival is located across from fire station 1 at 11835 Rist Canyon Road, Bellvue CO. We need help Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to make this event happen. Click on the link below to sign up. Thank you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4BA9A823A2FF2-rist

Trisha Johnston

It's Festival time and Baked goods are needed for the Bake Sale Tent. This is a great way to get the entire family involved in supporting RCVFD. PIES are the most requested item every year. Cookies, Brownies, and Breads are always on the request list too. Whatever you love to bake we would love to sell! Please package your baked goods in quantities that are easy to sell, ie: 1/2 dozen cookies, one loaf of bread etc. It is very helpful if you list ingredients especially the high allergen items such as nuts. I will be at the tent by 7AM the day of the festival so you can drop your items off anytime that day. If you need to make other arrangements or have questions please don't hesitate to contact me, Lisa Diederich H 970-472-8426 C 970-215-6904 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thank you in advance for your generosity. Our Fire Department deserves the very best! See you at the Festival!

Lori Hodges, director of Emergency Management for Larimer County, has published an update on recovery efforts underway for the areas affected by the Cameron Peak Fire last year. The six-page PDF document covers the following topics:

• Hazardous Tree Removal
• Sandbags
• Community Well-Being
• Big Thompson Watershed Coalition volunteer event on 7-Aug
• Pro Bono insurance legal help clinic on 25-Aug
• Black Hollow Flood community gathering 7-Aug
• Monsoon Season and other weather considerations

Lori can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (970) 619-4900