Lower North Fork Fire Safety Message

All residents planning to move back into the Lower North Fork Fire affected area should read the following Safety Message. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_3vHjXvTmbCeURvWlY5LWJRbE9VeEIzd2hVYTludw/edit

All Evacuation Orders Lifted Tomorrow (4/2/12) at 8:00 AM

Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink and Incident Commander Rich Harvey have announced that, effective at 8:00 AM Monday morning (4/2/12), all evacuation orders will be lifted.

All of the pre-evacuation notices that have been issued will also be lifted tomorrow at 8:00 AM.

All residents will be allowed to go home starting at 8:00 AM. All roads, with the exception of Kuehster Road, will be open to the public. Kuehster Road will remain open only to residents until further notice.

Containment around the Lower North Fork Fire is now at 97%.

Residents should continue to exercise personal responsibility and discretion as they move back into the area. Please read the following document to educate yourself about the various risks associated with moving back into an area affected by wildfire. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_3vHjXvTmbCeURvWlY5LWJRbE9VeEIzd2hVYTludw/edit

Citizen Briefing at 5PM at West Jefferson Middle School

Jefferson County Sheriff, Ted Mink, & Incident Comander, Rich Harvey, will be at the 5:00 PM citizen briefing at West Jefferson Middle School.

Want to Support Wildland Fire Fighters? Here is How You Can!

To those who have asked how they can support the firefighters who have worked on the Lower North Fork Fire:

All year long crews of highly trained firefighters travel all over the country to fight fires that threaten communities of which they are not even a part. The fight against wildfire usually begins with local resources. When a fire grows as the Lower North Fork Fire did, the call goes out to other resources from out of the immediate area.

All of these men and women put their lives on the line and sometimes incur injuries or even die in the line of duty.

There is an organization which serves the wildland firefighting community and their families in times of tragedy. A donation to the Wildland Firefighters Foundation will provide direct assistance to firefighters and their families when they need it most.

Go to their website: http://www.wffoundation.org/ to learn more about the organization and ways you can help.

Pictures from the Lower North Fork Fire:

These pictures were taken on the evening of March 26th, 2012

Photos taken by Tim Schlung

Message from Jefferson County Animal Response Team

The Jefferson County Animal Response Team (J-CART)has worked hard during the duration of the Lower North Fork Fire. J-CART has provided services for 351 animals.

The livestock shelter at the Fairgrounds now has a phone that will be staffed as much as possible between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM every day until all animals are picked up. The number is 303.279.7303.

The Fairgrounds has the National High School Rodeo at the facility next weekend and will need every stall we are now occupying. We hope to have all the livestock returned to the owners by mid week if at all possible

Here are the groups (all part of J-CART) who helped out this last week:
*****************************************************************************
Jefferson County Horse Council Emergency Evacuation Team
Jefferson County Fairgrounds Staff
Foothills Animal Shelter and Staff
Evergreen Animal Protective League
Jefferson County Mounted Search and Rescue
Front Range Animal Evacuation Team
Animal Evacuation Volunteers
Gilpin County Animal Response Team
Jeffco HEAT (Horse Evacuation and Assistance Team)
Colorado Livestock Inspectors
Animal Emergency Management Program of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Foundation
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Section

******************************************************************************
Here is a flyer that gives contact information on all the volunteer groups that are part of J-CART: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_3vHjXvTmbCbkJWdFpjYWxRemF3dzNGNmh2bHdJZw/edit

******************************************************************************

The following are statistics available from animal rescue and support efforts.
******************************************************************************

Jefferson County Fairgrounds Livestock Shelter – run by Jefferson County Horse Council Emergency Evacuation Team (JCHC EET)

245 total animals – 140 horses, 2 cows, 39 alpaca, 16 goats, 41 llama, 3 donkeys, 1 dog, 1 mule, 2 yak
******************************************************************************

Red Cross Evacuation Sites (Conifer HS, West Jeff Middle School)
Temporary Pet Shelter – run by Evergreen Animal Protective League

41 animals taken in and cared for (unknown on the breakdown just yet)
******************************************************************************

Foothills Animal Shelter
No cost temporary sheltering for evacuated pet owners

65 total animals – 21 chickens, 5 geese, 4 salamanders, 9 koi, 12 cats, 13 dogs
*****************************************************************************

A volunteer group at the Fairgrounds and the Colorado Horsecare Foodbank are working to help displaced horse and livestock owners find hay and supplies and locations to temporarily board (for time frames beyond the middle of this week) their animals until they can be returned home. See the following flyer for more information:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_3vHjXvTmbCbW9TVTFBTnlSLVdwVWlrWkgyOUgzZw/edit

Updated Lower North Fork Fire Map

View Lower North Fork Wildfire in a larger map

Updated Lower North Fork Fire Map Showing Road Status: 4/1/12

Here are updated maps showing the revised evacuation area.

The road status on these maps is accurate as of this morning.

The fire perimeter and containment line data is accurate as of 3/31/12 at 4:00 PM.

Lower North Fork Fire Update: 4/1/12 0930:

Containment for the Lower North Fork Fire remains at 90%.

Homes located south of the intersection of Pleasant Park Road and Keuhster Road remain under the existing evacuation order.

As of 7:00 PM on Saturday (3/31/12) residents in the existing evacuation areas, to include Maxwell Hill and Critchell Road, were allowed to return to their homes.

The Red Flag Warning was issued by the National Weather Service yesterday from 1200 noon to 8:00 PM. The NWS has has issued the same Red Flag Warning today, to go into effect from 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM.

Due to the Red Flag Warning residents moving back into the repopulated area should remember to remain vigilant and prepared to leave should conditions change.

Lower North Fork Fire Horse Update 4/01/12 0925

Horse claim information

If Jefferson County Animal Control is still housing your horse, you may claim it during daylight hours at the Jeffco Animal Shelter. Please be prepared to present proof of ownership or some form or identification, such as a driver's license, with your address on it. If you have further questions, please call Jeffco Animal Control at 303-271-5071.

Citizen and Media Briefings for Sunday 4/01/12:

Citizen and Media Briefings for Sunday 4/01/12:
There are no media briefings scheduled for Sunday April, 1st, 2012 at Conifer High School. Should a briefing be necessary we will notify the media of the briefing time via this website and via our Twitter account (@jeffcosheriffco).

There will be a citizen briefing at the West Jefferson Middle School at 5:00 PM. There will not be any briefing at 9:00 AM or 1:00 PM.