U/D Larimer County Wildland
4:31 PM - Apr 2 The Crystal Fire in Larimer County remains at about 20 to 25 acres with approximately 25% to 30% containment. Again this afternoon, winds remained relatively calm providing firefighters an opportunity to continue to contain the fire.
One structure, containing an ATV and a motorcycle, was destroyed earlier today. The vehicles were also destroyed. No additional structures are threatened at this time and no evacuations are planned. Crystal Mountain Road south of Buckeye Road will remain open only to residents. There have been no injuries.
Few flames were visible late this afternoon as firefighters sought to put out burning embers and hot spots in the grassy areas. Concerns of increased winds fanning the fire will keep crews on scene through the night.
Area residents were notified of the situation earlier today via the Rist Canyon Community Information system, an email-based system.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The next update will occur tomorrow morning after crews have had a chance to assess the situation.
12:56 AM - Apr 3 The Crystal Fire has blown up with sustained 50 mph winds and evacuations have been ordered. The emergency phone notifications went out to approximately 40 residences in the Stringtown Gulch area of the Buckhorn Canyon. We are now working on opening a shelter for displaced persons at the Stove Prairie School located north of the Buckhorn Canyon. Red Cross and the Humane Society of Larimer County are assisting with the latter,. It is thought that we will transition to a Type I management team on this fire given the sudden turn in circumstances and the potential for growth. If and when that happens and what resources will be brought to bear on this situation will be reported upon when known.
2:01 AM - Apr 3 Nothing new to report on the fire situation other than it continues to grow with significant spotting activity due to high winds. There is a change in the shelter however: the Stove Prairie School will not be used for evacuees but instead for a Fire Overhead meeting site; the shelter will be opened at Cache La Poudre Elementary School in LaPorte. People who find it impossible to travel up to Stove Prairie and then down Rist Canyon should go directly to the Masonville Store. An American Red Cross representative will hopefully be there soon to advise any evacuees who arrive there of the new shelter location. The Laporte shelter location will be opened at approximately 2:30 to 2:40 a.m.
2:50 AM - Apr 3 Things are pretty busy up on the fire and any kind of accurate acreage estimation will probably have to wait until morning, but it seems we have many hundreds of acres involved now with one prliminary guess putting it at 800-1,000 acres. One spot fire alone was reported to be nearly 100 acres. The forecast for this evening (this morning) is not favorable with the winds continuing. We will continue to update this with any releveant information as we get it.
4:40 AM - Apr 3 Redstone Canyon area has now been notified for evacuations. In addion to the intial 110 numbers reached on the first evacuations, this adds another 226. A second shelter has been set up at the Big Thompson Elementray School at the intersection of the Masonville Road and Highway 34 in Loveland. The Davis Ranch Road area in Rist Canyon has not yet been contacted for evacuations (and it is not known whether they will be) but all residents are urged to maintain vigilance regrading this fire and be prepared to move if necessary. Anyone who wishes to leave from there can seek shelter at the Cache LaPoudre Elementary Scool in LaPorte. Smoke is very evident to those in the Fort Collins (and elsewhere in the vicinity) since the smoke column is being blown down closer to the ground and the smell of smoke is very strong. With sunrise, this will be visually evident to a great many people. No word yet on acreage but we hope to have an update shortly.
Larimer County Emergency Information
