Winter Weather Definitions... 

With winter looking like it will make a visit to Colorado this month it is time to review all the winter weather definitions since we will be seeing a lot of these over the coming winter months as higher than average snowfall is expected.

The National Weather Service issues many different types of watches and warnings during the winter months.  Here is what they mean:

WINTER STORM WATCH:

A winter storm watch is issued when winter storm conditions are possible within the next 12 to 36 hours, but the timing, intensity, or occurrence may still be uncertain.

WINTER STORM WARNING:

A winter storm warning is issued when heavy snow is occurring or will develop in the next 18 hours.  The heavy snow may be accompanied by wind and blowing snow.Remember, snow does not necessarily need to be falling and dangerous wind chills are often observed during blizzard events.

The link below is a You Tube video from The Ridgeview fire that occurred on July 28,2004 in Reno, Nevada. The fire occurred in an open space between two rows of homes and appears to have started from fireworks. 4 homes were destroyed and another two received damage from a fairly small fire. One of the homes was threatened and became involved within two minutes. Please visit our Wildland fire safety page for proper steps homeowners can take to protect their property.
 

LFPD provides a free evaluation to property owners within our district for mitigation before a wildfire starts. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7nprYdLM9E

The Oxyoke wildfire burning in the Pike National Forest along Highway 67 is 100% contained at 110 acres.

The fire burned in Jefferson County; however, several Douglas County fire and law enforcement units assisted.

The fire was reported to be 1 acre at 12:30 Sunday and rapidly grew to around 90 acres by nightfall on the 20th. The next day the growth was minimal and was contained on July 22, 2008 at 110 acres.

Please ensure you and your family are prepared when a wildfire strikes your community.

The election that was conducted on May 6 for three Board of Director positions resulted in the following.

Darol Yarman ( Term to expire in 2012)
Scott Simms ( Term to expire in 2012)
Jim Burke (Term to expire in 2010)

Thank you for coming out and supporting your fire district.

In the early morning hours of January 28, 2008 Larkspur fire received a call for a Semi Truck accident overturned and on fire. Larkspur fire units responded from station 161 and within about three minutes of leaving the station could see the flames. Fortunately the trailer was empty and the driver had escaped without injury. The weather however was not cooperating. The wind was blowing directly out of the west sustained at 25 mph gusting to well over 40 mph. Crews extinguished the blase quickly and needed to utilize the tender for water supply due to the remote location of the accident site. A-Shift under the command of Lt Lamb did an excellent job handling this challenging situation. Castle Rock fire was requested for a Haz Mat response to assist Larkspur fire with containing the runoff and initiating the cleanup of the scene. Photo's provided by Bryan Maine. A huge thank you to all for the successful outcome of this challenging incident.

Please take time as you prepare to change your clocks to also take time to change your batteries. Below are several tips to assist you with keeping your household safe.


  10 Simple Home Fire Safety Tips:

1.      Practice smoke-alarm maintenance for a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths. 

2.      A simple reminder from the International Association of Fire Chiefs and Energizer Max^® brand batteries: When you change your clocks, change the battery in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. This can help save lives.

3.      Test your smoke alarms monthly to make sure they are working.

4.      Have at least one working smoke alarm on each level of your home.

5.      Plan, discuss and practice a fire escape route with your family. 

6.      Do not rely on your sense of smell to alert you that you and your family are in danger of being trapped during a fire.

7.      Be sure not to ignore the chirping sound your smoke alarm makes when maintenance is required.

8.      Keep fire-starting materials away from children, including lighters, matches, cigarettes, cigars and pipes.

9.      Use flashlights rather than candles to light your home during power outages.

10.  Space heaters need space. Portable space heaters need a three-foot (one meter) clearance from anything that can burn and should always be turned off when leaving the room or going to sleep.