News
02-02-24 -- BOARD ELECTIONS
Special District Elections will be held on May 6, 2025. To learn more, please follow this link.
07-31-24 -- LARIMER COUNTY FIRE BAN
The County Board of Commissioners has voted to instate fire restrictions from now until 8:00 am August 31st. The restrictions forbid uncontained open fires, contained open fires, the use of combustible devices, and fireworks (which, to be clear, are always illegal for private citizens to use in our area, but public fireworks are also now banned).
This means:
The following are not permitted:
- Open fires, including camp or cooking fires. This includes fires in permanently constructed stationary masonry or metal fireplaces, like those required in Crystal Lakes.
- Fireworks or firework displays.
- Incendiary devices including sky lanterns, exploding ammunition, exploding targets, and tracer ammunition.
- Smoking in the open, including on trails, in parks, and in open spaces.
- Outdoor welding.
The following are still allowed:
- Gas-fueled fires, including grills and camping stoves.
- Fireplaces or wood stoves located inside permanent structures.
The press release about the restrictions is here: https://www.larimer.gov/spotlights/2024/07/31/larimer-county-adopts-fire-restrictions
The county page about the restrictions is here: https://www.larimer.gov/emergency/mitigating-against-hazards/larimer-county-fire-restrictions-bans
07-21-24 -- CHAINSAW CLASS DATE CHANGE
We're sorry, but we're having to make a change to the class schedule. The Chainsaw Safety class originally scheduled for next Saturday, July 27th, has been rescheduled to August 17th at 3:00 pm.
We're sorry for any inconvenience this causes. If August 17th isn't the best day for you, perhaps one of the Chainsaw Safety classes our firefighters are scheduled to teach for a Poudre Canyon program would fit your schedule? See the flyer below for those dates and how to sign up (we've been assured that everyone is welcome -- you don't need to live in Poudre Canyon to attend).
04-19-24 -- TOUR A LIVE BROADCAST BURN SITE
If you're interested in how prescribed burns are conducted in our area, please join local USDA Forest Service leaders and local partners on a "live prescribed fire" site visit of the Magic Feather prescribed burn on Wednesday, April 24 from 12-2pm.
Come learn from local Forest Service fire managers about how they design a prescribed burn, what weather conditions are required for prescribed burning operations, what the objectives of the project include, and what it means to live in a fire-adapted ecosystem.
For more information and to RSVP please visit:
03-17-24 -- SMALL MITIGATION GRANTS FOR HOMEOWNERS
The Colorado Department of Fire Prevention and Control has announced a round of small grants for homeowners to work primarily on home hardening for fire mitigation. The application period is open now and grant applications are due April 15th.
For more information, go to https://sites.google.com/state.co.us/wildfire-resilient-homes/home
Find the applications here: https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fsipa.tfaforms.net%2F321313&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AOvVaw0mPggd7sGL08RxK0nA2cPB
03-16-24 -- SLASH DEPOT BURN UPDATE
Firefighters from CLVFD and RFLVFD have been manning the Slash Depot burn continuously since we lit it off Thursday morning. At this point, it's burned down enough that we'll be switching to a schedule of regular monitoring instead of a constant presence. There's still smoke rising from the piles and some flames may be visible at times as the fire, which is still smoldering, makes contact with some unburned fuel or gets a fresh infusion of oxygen via a gust of wind. The Slash Depot gates are closed and public access is not permitted, as the site is and will remain unsafe until the ashes have cooled.
You can expect the burn to continue putting up smoke for some time yet and that we'll continue to keep an eye on it to ensure it's safely contained.
03-14-2024 -- SLASH DEPOT BURN UPDATE
Weather conditions having turned out just right for a burn, firefighters lit off the Slash Depot piles at 10:45 this morning. Expect to see significant smoke in the area for the next couple of days.
Firefighters from either CLVFD or RFLVFD will be continuously manning the burn for at least the first 48 hours, with personnel continuing to monitor the site regularly after that point.
03-13-2024 -- SLASH DEPOT BURN
If the approaching snowstorm comes in as forecast, Crystal Lakes VFD and Red Feather Lakes VFD are tentatively planning to burn the piles at the Slash Depot starting this Thursday, March 14th. Whether or not we burn will be entirely dependent on snowfall totals and weather conditions, and the final decision will be made by Crystal Lakes and Red Feather Lakes VFD chief officers and the certified burn boss hired by the Crystal Lakes Road & Recreation Association to supervise the burn.
We'll have a number of firefighters from both departments on site for the first several hours of the burn, and there will be either CLVFD or RFLVFD personnel continuously manning the burn for at least the first 48 hours, with personnel continuing to monitor the site regularly after that point.
Depending on the conditions and weather forecast on Thursday, burning may begin that morning, be put off until later in the day or later in the week, or scrapped until the weather and snow totals are better for safe burning. We'll post in our group email and on Nextdoor as we know more.