High Park Fire Update Timeline
7/23/12 - 7:30
Well, we have found cleaning up from a fire at at a place that serves the public is a little more complex that we anticipated. Although we had made a call for volunteers, we now find we need to wait a bit before bringing anyone up. We have found that there are certain procedures that we should follow before we can begin, or actually in our case, resume clean-up operations. I am sorry everyone, including us has to wait. Thank all of you who have contacted me about volunteering. I would love to have you and I hope to soon in the future.
On a bright note. We have really seen the areas on the ground that were blackened by the fire green up with new grass! There is a lot of wildlife around. Nature is making a comeback!
7/19/12 - 10 AM
We have a land line phone back at the camp! Now, please, let's not all call just to say hi! I appreciate the concern but just answering emails takes hours and extra calls are not needed just now. However, if you have legitimate business, please call!
The clean-up here at camp has started and is on-going. We are scheduling volunteers for help at the camp. We will need some help this Friday - Sunday with general clean-up inside the buildings. Please email or give us a call to set something up.
For all of our guests and campers that have been so patient waiting for refunds, your wait is over. We will be mailing out checks today. I am sorry this has taken so long but there was a series of things that had to happen before we could do this. If you do not receive a refund do to you by the end of next week, please contact us by email.
We should finish cleaning up the two Miner's Camp cabins that burnt and will begin to work on the Bath house area tomorrow and over the weekend. There are lots of details to take care of before we can begin cleaning all of the burnt sites. It is our goal to have the camp site cleaned of burnt building debris by late August.
It is my hope that we can get some of our inspectors from the Health Dept. and Social Service up to the camp to determine the steps we need to take to reopen this coming week.
We are now fully in the recovery process. As funny as this sounds, it is both going quicker and slower that I would have thought. There is much to do. As always thank you for the support.
7/13/12 - 10 AM
We now have water up to all the undamaged buildings. We will start having volunteers at Buckhorn starting this Sunday. We have received a $50,000 advance payment from the insurance company. We will be sending out refunds for camp fees in the next few days.
We still do not have a land line for phone so email is the best way to get in touch with someone at the camp.
Another thank you for all of your support.
7/11/12 - 9 AM
Sorry it has been a while since the last update. It has been a busy few days.
We will get the cistern cleaned today and I hope to have water back up to most of the rest of the camp by Thursday. We will begin to bring volunteers up here after that. I may try to squeeze in a couple of days away sometime in the midst of all that.
The camp is broke and we have not received any money yet from insurance or other sources. I am asking everyone who has indicated they would like to donate to Buckhorn to please do so now. Please send your donations directly to the Camp at:
Buckhorn Camp
PO Box 125
Bellvue, CO 80512
Indicate they are for fire relief. If we do receive some funds other than these donations we will use these donations for things that were not covered by insurance.
We can now have visitors at camp but please remember that we have a lot to do up here. I love showing people around the camp, but at this time I don't have a lot of time for that.
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
7/5/12 - 1 PM
I have had a chance to look around the property. We lost about half of our trees and 13 structures. The wooden walkway to the lake is gone as is the covered deck on the lake. The Green Cathedral has a lot of damage as does the fire ring by the boardwalk. Sky High Hope Camp lost their two storage sheds.
We are working on the water system. I need to get the cistern cleaned out, then I need to find the underground pipe that fed the staff house that burned. The only shut off I know for that line was under the house itself! We can not turn the water on to the rest of the camp before I get all the pipes that led to burnt building secured.
I really hope to be able to have some volunteers come up soon. Thanks again for all of your prayers.
7/4/12 - 7:30 AM
We wish everyone a very happy 4th of July. We are celebrating this day, not only for the normal reasons, but we are also celebrating being back into the camp residence. We now have power, and water. No phone yet, but that is coming. The utilities have been amazing in the work they have done. Kudos to them all.
My family and I are going to relax on this day. Perhaps we will go into Fort Collins and listen to some music in City Park. We have never been able to do that before in the summer so we will take advantage of this unfortunate situation.
My family and I would like to thank everyone for their support during our time of "exile." I have had many offers from folks to come up and help us with the clean-up. We certainly appreciate this and want to be able to have volunteers up here to give us a hand. We will need to wait a little while on this until we know exactly what our situation is. Their are toxins in some of the rubble and unsafe areas here at the camp. We just want everyone to be safe.
I hope by next week we will be able to have a clearer picture of how we need to proceed. Thank you all once again. Have a great 4th!
6/30/12 - 8 PM
Well, we were not able to move into the house yesterday. We know are setting Sunday as the goal. I believe the cistern was contaminated when the plastic storage tanks burned so I am having to by-pass the cistern to get water to the house.
I also found out that the covered dock on our pond was destroyed. Not all bad news. The main part of the camp looks really good! More later...
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6/28/12 - 7:00 AM
CLICK HERE FOR NEW PHOTOS OF FIRE DAMAGE
Yesterday at 5 PM Donna and I had a first look at the camp and the area surrounding it since the fire. I am happy to say that Rist Canyon and much of the area around the camp did not look as bad as we had feared. There are certainly areas in where everything is black, but there is a LOT of green up the canyon, on the camp property, and around the camp. We did not have time before dark to look at all of the camp property but we did get to evaluate the main areas of the camp.
Elkhorn lodge and the immediate area surrounding it are fine.
Buckhorn Lodge is fine.
Most of the main cabins look to be OK with the exception of cabin 5 which is gone. Some of the other cabins may have sustained some slight damage.
As reported before, the craft shack is gone along with the old shop and a couple of storage sheds. The old shop has the concrete block walls standing but they will have to come down.
The Miner's Camp Bathhouse and two cabins are gone.
The wooden walkway to the Miner's Camp and the lake is gone except for a few pieces here and there.
The new shop is likely a total loss. Although the building is standing the interior looks like someone set off a bomb. The paint shed is also gone.
There is a lot of other damage through the camp. Some of our electrical service has been damaged and will need to be repaired before we can begin to rebuild.
So - frankly, although we lost a lot of structures, Buckhorn Camp is still there - AND IT IS STILL BUCKHORN CAMP! We are bruised but far from beaten.
My family and I will be moving up to the camp later today. I will be operating the office off of a generator and it is likely my cell coverage will not be that good so I may be somewhat out of touch for a day or two. I will try to post updates as I can.
6/27/12 - 9:16
A Big THANK YOU to Jo Ann Belk and Bill Henderson for sending these to me. They come from a 1st UMC Fort Collins member who works for the assessors office. They have had appraisers in the area taking pictures. I have identified them as best as I can for now. As terrible as the photos look, notice the green that remains.
6/27/12 - 8:20
We have been grateful for all of your prayers. I am sure that you are also praying for all of the other people that are now affected by wildfires.
We do have good news for our area. We have been given the official notice that as of 5 PM this Thursday we will be allowed to go back up to the camp. I am going to try and get up on that day to do an evaluation of how soon we can move back up and occupy the camp.
THE PRIORITY at this time is to get up to the camp and remove all of the spoiled food from the house and the walk-in cooler and freezer in the kitchen. The fire fighters have reported that bears are very active in the area and looking for food.
I hope that by Friday I might be able to post some pictures of the camp.
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6/23/12 - 11:50
The fire is still active in several areas, however it seems that they have reach "internal containment" in the areas around the camp. We were told this morning that the people in our area could possible head back up on Thursday.
I will have to make a decision about the camp truck in the next few days. The clutch went out in the truck during the evacuation and it is sitting at local repair shop. The cost to repair the truck would be $1,000. Might be better to find another one. We will need this after we get back to haul spoiled food out of the camp before the bears come.
Hopefully I will have more news after the 5 PM meeting.
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6/24/12 - 8:30 AM
Now with the Waldo Canyon fire there are around 10,000 people that have evacuated from their homes in Colorado due to wildfire. To put this in perspective, this is over half the population of Windsor.
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6/24/12 - 7:30 AM
A little good news. The area around the camp has remained stable despite the high temps and winds. The concern has been, and still is, that as long as there are combustible materials around in this area, that the winds could blow up sparks and these materials can still burn.
We were told by Bob Ganns our Fire Chief that returning to the area up there will be a matter of DAYS not WEEKS. This is very good news, if conditions remain the same. They do not plan on allowing others beyond residents to be in the area until fall.
The fire itself is still very active to the North and South. It looks like it will be another bad weather day for the fire. The briefing meetings are now being held at 5PM everyday.
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6/23/12 - 3:30
Not news about the HP fire but there is a new fire up very close to Estes Park. Here is a good link:
Estes Fire
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6/23/12 - 7:30
Good morning all. I found out that Jerry Svboda, our Board Chair was re-evacuated from Poudre Park yesterday. He had just got to go back. Also our Nurse, Julie Drake has been evacuated from her home in Glacier View Meadows.
Really bad weather for the next few days. The heat and wind will make the fire grow. Right now I am predicting the fire will reach 100 acres by early in the next week. We will see if I am right, hope not!
I found out this morning that we now have our rooms at the La Quinta until Monday. They are really working with all the evacuees to try to keep them housed. The housing situation is getting crazy with so many people evacuated.
I have not heard anything new about the area up by the camp. This weather is worrying, however they still have crews up there protecting structures.
They have moved the afternoon meetings to 5 PM. As I get more information, I will pass it on.
6/22/12 - 5:40
Everyone was concerned about the weather and rightfully so. The fire jumped some of their continent lines and is trying to head North up into Glacier View Meadows. This is prompted more evacuations and a re-evacuation of some folks that were let back.
We have several days of this weather ahead. This puts the camp in more threat for they have to pull crews from other areas to fight the breakout.
Housing is becoming a big problem for all the evacuees, us included. All the local motels have summer bookings so with all of the evacuees in the area it is getting very hard to find a motel. We have ours until Sunday and have yet to find another place to go. Hopefully the motel will have enough cancelations that we will be able to stay.
As I look toward the West I can see a huge plume of smoke coming off the fire. Keep prayin' folks!
6/21/12 - 8:30
Not sure I know much more. They continue to work on the fire and progress is being made. Everyone is concerned about the upcoming weather. We remain hopeful.
I am getting a lot of calls and emails. Please excuse me if I miss your call or do not email you back. I always try to answer them all and we appreciate your love and concern. I am sure we are missing some in all the chaos.
I hope to have more to report tomorrow.
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6/20/12 - 4:50
Not much new news. We did learn at the meeting that they are beginning to work on the interior hot spots which means, if the weather cooperates, that action brings us that much closer to being able to return to the camp.
The Northwest section of the fire continues to be of great concern. I'll put up more when I know more.
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6/19/12 - 4:50
I have just returned from the 3 PM briefing on the fire. This is a huge active fire that continues to grow. The weather is not good. We need rain!
I talked with Bob Ganns our local Fire Chief. He had some pictures on his cell phone of some of the damaged camp buildings. This is what I saw:
Cabin 1 (I believe it to be cabin 1) is burnt to the ground, only the fireplace and chimney stands.
The old craft building is totally gone.
The concrete walls are standing on the old shop but it is a shell.
The Miner's Camp Bath house is burnt and collapsed.
Two Miner's Camp Cabins are ash.
The shop is badly scorched on one side but Bob said he thought the contents may be OK.
I did not see any pictures of the burnt staff house but Bob confirmed that it burnt.
At this time Elkhorn and Buckhorn Lodges have survived as has the majority of the main cabins.
6/18/12 - 4:30
I am very sorry to report that due to the high winds up on the fire yesterday, fire did sweep through the camp and we lost some buildings. The buildings we lost are:
The Staff Trailer (cooks house)
The Old Craft Building
The Old Shop
The Miner's Camp Bath House
Two Miner's Camp Cabins
One Main Cabin (which one is undetermined at this time)
The new shop also got scorched and it is believed much of the contents are damaged.
It was reported that the Log House was standing. At this time I have no information about other buildings other than those I listed.
Rich and Betty Miller, our cooks for this summer, lost a lot of personal items in the staff trailer.
The fire is still very dangerous and the rest of the camp is not safe yet. Please continue in your prayers.
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6/17/12 - 4:20
Not a good day up at the fire. High winds, very high temps, and low humidity have made the fire active on it's edges and in the interior. The fire crews stationed on structure protection are having trouble with the smoke making it so hard to see fire that springs up. This weather is due to continue into tomorrow.
When I find out more I will post.
Well, we have found cleaning up from a fire at at a place that serves the public is a little more complex that we anticipated. Although we had made a call for volunteers, we now find we need to wait a bit before bringing anyone up. We have found that there are certain procedures that we should follow before we can begin, or actually in our case, resume clean-up operations. I am sorry everyone, including us has to wait. Thank all of you who have contacted me about volunteering. I would love to have you and I hope to soon in the future.
On a bright note. We have really seen the areas on the ground that were blackened by the fire green up with new grass! There is a lot of wildlife around. Nature is making a comeback!
7/19/12 - 10 AM
We have a land line phone back at the camp! Now, please, let's not all call just to say hi! I appreciate the concern but just answering emails takes hours and extra calls are not needed just now. However, if you have legitimate business, please call!
The clean-up here at camp has started and is on-going. We are scheduling volunteers for help at the camp. We will need some help this Friday - Sunday with general clean-up inside the buildings. Please email or give us a call to set something up.
For all of our guests and campers that have been so patient waiting for refunds, your wait is over. We will be mailing out checks today. I am sorry this has taken so long but there was a series of things that had to happen before we could do this. If you do not receive a refund do to you by the end of next week, please contact us by email.
We should finish cleaning up the two Miner's Camp cabins that burnt and will begin to work on the Bath house area tomorrow and over the weekend. There are lots of details to take care of before we can begin cleaning all of the burnt sites. It is our goal to have the camp site cleaned of burnt building debris by late August.
It is my hope that we can get some of our inspectors from the Health Dept. and Social Service up to the camp to determine the steps we need to take to reopen this coming week.
We are now fully in the recovery process. As funny as this sounds, it is both going quicker and slower that I would have thought. There is much to do. As always thank you for the support.
7/13/12 - 10 AM
We now have water up to all the undamaged buildings. We will start having volunteers at Buckhorn starting this Sunday. We have received a $50,000 advance payment from the insurance company. We will be sending out refunds for camp fees in the next few days.
We still do not have a land line for phone so email is the best way to get in touch with someone at the camp.
Another thank you for all of your support.
7/11/12 - 9 AM
Sorry it has been a while since the last update. It has been a busy few days.
We will get the cistern cleaned today and I hope to have water back up to most of the rest of the camp by Thursday. We will begin to bring volunteers up here after that. I may try to squeeze in a couple of days away sometime in the midst of all that.
The camp is broke and we have not received any money yet from insurance or other sources. I am asking everyone who has indicated they would like to donate to Buckhorn to please do so now. Please send your donations directly to the Camp at:
Buckhorn Camp
PO Box 125
Bellvue, CO 80512
Indicate they are for fire relief. If we do receive some funds other than these donations we will use these donations for things that were not covered by insurance.
We can now have visitors at camp but please remember that we have a lot to do up here. I love showing people around the camp, but at this time I don't have a lot of time for that.
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
7/5/12 - 1 PM
I have had a chance to look around the property. We lost about half of our trees and 13 structures. The wooden walkway to the lake is gone as is the covered deck on the lake. The Green Cathedral has a lot of damage as does the fire ring by the boardwalk. Sky High Hope Camp lost their two storage sheds.
We are working on the water system. I need to get the cistern cleaned out, then I need to find the underground pipe that fed the staff house that burned. The only shut off I know for that line was under the house itself! We can not turn the water on to the rest of the camp before I get all the pipes that led to burnt building secured.
I really hope to be able to have some volunteers come up soon. Thanks again for all of your prayers.
7/4/12 - 7:30 AM
We wish everyone a very happy 4th of July. We are celebrating this day, not only for the normal reasons, but we are also celebrating being back into the camp residence. We now have power, and water. No phone yet, but that is coming. The utilities have been amazing in the work they have done. Kudos to them all.
My family and I are going to relax on this day. Perhaps we will go into Fort Collins and listen to some music in City Park. We have never been able to do that before in the summer so we will take advantage of this unfortunate situation.
My family and I would like to thank everyone for their support during our time of "exile." I have had many offers from folks to come up and help us with the clean-up. We certainly appreciate this and want to be able to have volunteers up here to give us a hand. We will need to wait a little while on this until we know exactly what our situation is. Their are toxins in some of the rubble and unsafe areas here at the camp. We just want everyone to be safe.
I hope by next week we will be able to have a clearer picture of how we need to proceed. Thank you all once again. Have a great 4th!
6/30/12 - 8 PM
Well, we were not able to move into the house yesterday. We know are setting Sunday as the goal. I believe the cistern was contaminated when the plastic storage tanks burned so I am having to by-pass the cistern to get water to the house.
I also found out that the covered dock on our pond was destroyed. Not all bad news. The main part of the camp looks really good! More later...
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6/28/12 - 7:00 AM
CLICK HERE FOR NEW PHOTOS OF FIRE DAMAGE
Yesterday at 5 PM Donna and I had a first look at the camp and the area surrounding it since the fire. I am happy to say that Rist Canyon and much of the area around the camp did not look as bad as we had feared. There are certainly areas in where everything is black, but there is a LOT of green up the canyon, on the camp property, and around the camp. We did not have time before dark to look at all of the camp property but we did get to evaluate the main areas of the camp.
Elkhorn lodge and the immediate area surrounding it are fine.
Buckhorn Lodge is fine.
Most of the main cabins look to be OK with the exception of cabin 5 which is gone. Some of the other cabins may have sustained some slight damage.
As reported before, the craft shack is gone along with the old shop and a couple of storage sheds. The old shop has the concrete block walls standing but they will have to come down.
The Miner's Camp Bathhouse and two cabins are gone.
The wooden walkway to the Miner's Camp and the lake is gone except for a few pieces here and there.
The new shop is likely a total loss. Although the building is standing the interior looks like someone set off a bomb. The paint shed is also gone.
There is a lot of other damage through the camp. Some of our electrical service has been damaged and will need to be repaired before we can begin to rebuild.
So - frankly, although we lost a lot of structures, Buckhorn Camp is still there - AND IT IS STILL BUCKHORN CAMP! We are bruised but far from beaten.
My family and I will be moving up to the camp later today. I will be operating the office off of a generator and it is likely my cell coverage will not be that good so I may be somewhat out of touch for a day or two. I will try to post updates as I can.
6/27/12 - 9:16
A Big THANK YOU to Jo Ann Belk and Bill Henderson for sending these to me. They come from a 1st UMC Fort Collins member who works for the assessors office. They have had appraisers in the area taking pictures. I have identified them as best as I can for now. As terrible as the photos look, notice the green that remains.
6/27/12 - 8:20
We have been grateful for all of your prayers. I am sure that you are also praying for all of the other people that are now affected by wildfires.
We do have good news for our area. We have been given the official notice that as of 5 PM this Thursday we will be allowed to go back up to the camp. I am going to try and get up on that day to do an evaluation of how soon we can move back up and occupy the camp.
THE PRIORITY at this time is to get up to the camp and remove all of the spoiled food from the house and the walk-in cooler and freezer in the kitchen. The fire fighters have reported that bears are very active in the area and looking for food.
I hope that by Friday I might be able to post some pictures of the camp.
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6/23/12 - 11:50
The fire is still active in several areas, however it seems that they have reach "internal containment" in the areas around the camp. We were told this morning that the people in our area could possible head back up on Thursday.
I will have to make a decision about the camp truck in the next few days. The clutch went out in the truck during the evacuation and it is sitting at local repair shop. The cost to repair the truck would be $1,000. Might be better to find another one. We will need this after we get back to haul spoiled food out of the camp before the bears come.
Hopefully I will have more news after the 5 PM meeting.
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6/24/12 - 8:30 AM
Now with the Waldo Canyon fire there are around 10,000 people that have evacuated from their homes in Colorado due to wildfire. To put this in perspective, this is over half the population of Windsor.
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6/24/12 - 7:30 AM
A little good news. The area around the camp has remained stable despite the high temps and winds. The concern has been, and still is, that as long as there are combustible materials around in this area, that the winds could blow up sparks and these materials can still burn.
We were told by Bob Ganns our Fire Chief that returning to the area up there will be a matter of DAYS not WEEKS. This is very good news, if conditions remain the same. They do not plan on allowing others beyond residents to be in the area until fall.
The fire itself is still very active to the North and South. It looks like it will be another bad weather day for the fire. The briefing meetings are now being held at 5PM everyday.
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6/23/12 - 3:30
Not news about the HP fire but there is a new fire up very close to Estes Park. Here is a good link:
Estes Fire
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6/23/12 - 7:30
Good morning all. I found out that Jerry Svboda, our Board Chair was re-evacuated from Poudre Park yesterday. He had just got to go back. Also our Nurse, Julie Drake has been evacuated from her home in Glacier View Meadows.
Really bad weather for the next few days. The heat and wind will make the fire grow. Right now I am predicting the fire will reach 100 acres by early in the next week. We will see if I am right, hope not!
I found out this morning that we now have our rooms at the La Quinta until Monday. They are really working with all the evacuees to try to keep them housed. The housing situation is getting crazy with so many people evacuated.
I have not heard anything new about the area up by the camp. This weather is worrying, however they still have crews up there protecting structures.
They have moved the afternoon meetings to 5 PM. As I get more information, I will pass it on.
6/22/12 - 5:40
Everyone was concerned about the weather and rightfully so. The fire jumped some of their continent lines and is trying to head North up into Glacier View Meadows. This is prompted more evacuations and a re-evacuation of some folks that were let back.
We have several days of this weather ahead. This puts the camp in more threat for they have to pull crews from other areas to fight the breakout.
Housing is becoming a big problem for all the evacuees, us included. All the local motels have summer bookings so with all of the evacuees in the area it is getting very hard to find a motel. We have ours until Sunday and have yet to find another place to go. Hopefully the motel will have enough cancelations that we will be able to stay.
As I look toward the West I can see a huge plume of smoke coming off the fire. Keep prayin' folks!
6/21/12 - 8:30
Not sure I know much more. They continue to work on the fire and progress is being made. Everyone is concerned about the upcoming weather. We remain hopeful.
I am getting a lot of calls and emails. Please excuse me if I miss your call or do not email you back. I always try to answer them all and we appreciate your love and concern. I am sure we are missing some in all the chaos.
I hope to have more to report tomorrow.
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6/20/12 - 4:50
Not much new news. We did learn at the meeting that they are beginning to work on the interior hot spots which means, if the weather cooperates, that action brings us that much closer to being able to return to the camp.
The Northwest section of the fire continues to be of great concern. I'll put up more when I know more.
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6/19/12 - 4:50
I have just returned from the 3 PM briefing on the fire. This is a huge active fire that continues to grow. The weather is not good. We need rain!
I talked with Bob Ganns our local Fire Chief. He had some pictures on his cell phone of some of the damaged camp buildings. This is what I saw:
Cabin 1 (I believe it to be cabin 1) is burnt to the ground, only the fireplace and chimney stands.
The old craft building is totally gone.
The concrete walls are standing on the old shop but it is a shell.
The Miner's Camp Bath house is burnt and collapsed.
Two Miner's Camp Cabins are ash.
The shop is badly scorched on one side but Bob said he thought the contents may be OK.
I did not see any pictures of the burnt staff house but Bob confirmed that it burnt.
At this time Elkhorn and Buckhorn Lodges have survived as has the majority of the main cabins.
6/18/12 - 4:30
I am very sorry to report that due to the high winds up on the fire yesterday, fire did sweep through the camp and we lost some buildings. The buildings we lost are:
The Staff Trailer (cooks house)
The Old Craft Building
The Old Shop
The Miner's Camp Bath House
Two Miner's Camp Cabins
One Main Cabin (which one is undetermined at this time)
The new shop also got scorched and it is believed much of the contents are damaged.
It was reported that the Log House was standing. At this time I have no information about other buildings other than those I listed.
Rich and Betty Miller, our cooks for this summer, lost a lot of personal items in the staff trailer.
The fire is still very dangerous and the rest of the camp is not safe yet. Please continue in your prayers.
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6/17/12 - 4:20
Not a good day up at the fire. High winds, very high temps, and low humidity have made the fire active on it's edges and in the interior. The fire crews stationed on structure protection are having trouble with the smoke making it so hard to see fire that springs up. This weather is due to continue into tomorrow.
When I find out more I will post.
6/17/12 - 6:40
I wanted to share this photo with you. This was taken by Rich Miller as him and his wife, Betty were evacuated the Camp last on the day the fire started.
This was taken in the field between Elkhorn Lodge, and Buckhorn Lodge just above the boardwalk that connects them. In the lower left you will see our staff house where Rich and Betty were living. To the right through the trees you will see a glimpse of the log Directors house. We believe them both to still be there.
We still know little for sure. We have had encouraging reports of the camp and the immediate area surrounding. It still looks like it will be several weeks before we can get back in.
PRAY today for the people impacted by this fire. This will be a very bad day weather wise and the fire is still very active. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. I will update with more news as I have it.
6/16/12 - 10:45 AM
I can now report that we have had someone go up an look at the area around the camp. For those of you who know the area here is a summary of the description:
On Rist Canyon Rd. (52E) toward the summit, the "switch-back" curves just before the summit look like a "moonscape." As you drive through the gate, along the road to the camp there are areas of black and areas of vegetation.
Apparently the fire came right up to the camp house but the house is still standing. Apparently none of our buildings were damaged directly by the fire.
We are still hearing it will be at least two weeks before we are allowed to move back up. I am still trying to get approval to go up to the camp so one of my staff members can retrieve his personal belongings. If I am allowed to do so I will take some photos.
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6/15/12 - 5:00 PM
Good news from the afternoon briefing. We know that the residences and we believe the lodges are still intact! We had official confirmation of what residences were lost on the road. Of all the people that live up in area after you turn off of Rist Canyon Rd. up through and around the camp, only two lost their homes. Many other areas in the Rist Canyon area and down below the camp on the North and West were heavily burnt and many more homes were lost.
The fire is still active, however the most active edge of the fire is to the West and the North. The danger to the camp is not gone, but at this time, it is looking good.
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6/15/12 - 10:20 AM
Really no new information this morning about the camp. The 3 PM briefing will be about structures in the Tip Top area. Hopefully, I will have some more information after that briefing.
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6/14/12 - 5:30 PM
Just back from the 3 pm briefing. A little good news today. We were concerned with the fire map showing the fire coming very close to some buildings at the camp. After talking with our local Fire Chief he told us that the map looked that way due to back-burns done to protect structures. The infrared fire map does not distinguish between the two.
Thank you all for your prayers. Please keep it up!
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6/14/12 - 1:00 PM
NOTICE! We have decided to cancel all youth camps at Buckhorn this summer. This would include Elementary Camp, Middle School, and High School Camps.
Although conditions up at the camp are still unknown, we do know enough to determine that we would not be able to safely hold the camps at that time. I hope to know more after the 3 PM briefing. We will be working with our other camps to offer a summer camping experience to any of our campers who would like to attend another site.
We will work to get refunds to everyone that has sent in camp fees. Please be a little patient with us on that, it may take several days to sort everything out. I do have the camp registration files with me, however, I left some checks up in the camp office. We'll get it all figured out in time.
If you decide to attend another of our Methodist Camps we can transfer any camp fee that you have paid to that camp. We will gladly refund any differences in the fees.
For more information on our other camps please go to:
HeyLetsGoToCamp
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6/14/12 - 7:45 AM
Not a lot to report. The fire was very active yesterday and we believe it grew quite a bit to the West. Bob Ganns, our local volunteer Fire Chief has been a really good source of information. Bob has told me that the fire area to the South of the camp was a concern yesterday so we are waiting for updated news this morning.
I want to note that people in the community, friends of the camp, and our friends in the Conference office, and beyond have just been wonderful. This type of situation can bring out the best or worst in people. God is good - we have been surrounded by the best examples of good people.
On a personal note, my family and I are doing well. Even our pets have decided that their owners are crazy and have accepted their fate :-) Bob Ganns is estimating somewhere around two weeks before anyone is allowed to return to the area of the camp.
The Manger of Tip Top Ranch, Jeff Anderson, and I are going to try to get up to area for a look-see before that. Of course, we will not do so if we have to put ourselves in jeopardy, however, we both know a lot of the local fire crew so we hope to make this happen somehow.
Once again, thank you all for your prayers. I know that you are also praying for all of the others involved. I have been able to share that with some folks that have lost their homes and they have REALLY appreciated hearing that.
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6/13/12 - 7:30 AM
I wanted to share this photo with you. This was taken by Rich Miller as him and his wife, Betty were evacuated the Camp last on the day the fire started.
This was taken in the field between Elkhorn Lodge, and Buckhorn Lodge just above the boardwalk that connects them. In the lower left you will see our staff house where Rich and Betty were living. To the right through the trees you will see a glimpse of the log Directors house. We believe them both to still be there.
We still know little for sure. We have had encouraging reports of the camp and the immediate area surrounding. It still looks like it will be several weeks before we can get back in.
PRAY today for the people impacted by this fire. This will be a very bad day weather wise and the fire is still very active. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. I will update with more news as I have it.
6/16/12 - 10:45 AM
I can now report that we have had someone go up an look at the area around the camp. For those of you who know the area here is a summary of the description:
On Rist Canyon Rd. (52E) toward the summit, the "switch-back" curves just before the summit look like a "moonscape." As you drive through the gate, along the road to the camp there are areas of black and areas of vegetation.
Apparently the fire came right up to the camp house but the house is still standing. Apparently none of our buildings were damaged directly by the fire.
We are still hearing it will be at least two weeks before we are allowed to move back up. I am still trying to get approval to go up to the camp so one of my staff members can retrieve his personal belongings. If I am allowed to do so I will take some photos.
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6/15/12 - 5:00 PM
Good news from the afternoon briefing. We know that the residences and we believe the lodges are still intact! We had official confirmation of what residences were lost on the road. Of all the people that live up in area after you turn off of Rist Canyon Rd. up through and around the camp, only two lost their homes. Many other areas in the Rist Canyon area and down below the camp on the North and West were heavily burnt and many more homes were lost.
The fire is still active, however the most active edge of the fire is to the West and the North. The danger to the camp is not gone, but at this time, it is looking good.
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6/15/12 - 10:20 AM
Really no new information this morning about the camp. The 3 PM briefing will be about structures in the Tip Top area. Hopefully, I will have some more information after that briefing.
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6/14/12 - 5:30 PM
Just back from the 3 pm briefing. A little good news today. We were concerned with the fire map showing the fire coming very close to some buildings at the camp. After talking with our local Fire Chief he told us that the map looked that way due to back-burns done to protect structures. The infrared fire map does not distinguish between the two.
Thank you all for your prayers. Please keep it up!
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6/14/12 - 1:00 PM
NOTICE! We have decided to cancel all youth camps at Buckhorn this summer. This would include Elementary Camp, Middle School, and High School Camps.
Although conditions up at the camp are still unknown, we do know enough to determine that we would not be able to safely hold the camps at that time. I hope to know more after the 3 PM briefing. We will be working with our other camps to offer a summer camping experience to any of our campers who would like to attend another site.
We will work to get refunds to everyone that has sent in camp fees. Please be a little patient with us on that, it may take several days to sort everything out. I do have the camp registration files with me, however, I left some checks up in the camp office. We'll get it all figured out in time.
If you decide to attend another of our Methodist Camps we can transfer any camp fee that you have paid to that camp. We will gladly refund any differences in the fees.
For more information on our other camps please go to:
HeyLetsGoToCamp
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6/14/12 - 7:45 AM
Not a lot to report. The fire was very active yesterday and we believe it grew quite a bit to the West. Bob Ganns, our local volunteer Fire Chief has been a really good source of information. Bob has told me that the fire area to the South of the camp was a concern yesterday so we are waiting for updated news this morning.
I want to note that people in the community, friends of the camp, and our friends in the Conference office, and beyond have just been wonderful. This type of situation can bring out the best or worst in people. God is good - we have been surrounded by the best examples of good people.
On a personal note, my family and I are doing well. Even our pets have decided that their owners are crazy and have accepted their fate :-) Bob Ganns is estimating somewhere around two weeks before anyone is allowed to return to the area of the camp.
The Manger of Tip Top Ranch, Jeff Anderson, and I are going to try to get up to area for a look-see before that. Of course, we will not do so if we have to put ourselves in jeopardy, however, we both know a lot of the local fire crew so we hope to make this happen somehow.
Once again, thank you all for your prayers. I know that you are also praying for all of the others involved. I have been able to share that with some folks that have lost their homes and they have REALLY appreciated hearing that.
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6/13/12 - 7:30 AM
This is a graphic from the Inciweb.org site. It shows how Buckhorn is essentially surrounded by the fire.
This is from the same site just zoomed in some. This shows how close the fire has actually come to the camp buildings. You can view these same images on inciweb.org. Choose the hybrid setting and zoom in and out to get your bearings on just where the camp is. The topo map shown is not current. It is a Google Earth map from several years ago that they have imposed the fire map on.
You can see why I am concerned about the winds that are supposed to blow out of the South West today.
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6/13/12 - 6:20 AM
Yes, Buckhorn Camp and Tip Top Ranch are still there! Tip Top lost one of their cabins but the main corral area is intact.
There will be no morning briefing, however at 9:30AM they will do a press briefing. The live briefing today will be at 3:30.
A small note of caution. The fire is not out, is very active, the winds will not be favorable for the camp later today. The camp is not out of danger yet, but it certainly looks WAY better than it did before and we are very hopeful.
Rich and Betty Miller, our camp cooks, are staying at a military base in the Springs. We are going to send Faith Daniels home to Oklahoma. We have canceled all groups up to and through Camp Hope.
Donna, Mat, Justin, and all of our pets are at a motel in FC and doing well. The motel is full of evacuees and pets and we are all helping each other out.
Thank you all for your prayers. I will give another update after the 3PM briefing or if I hear and confirm some new development.
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6/12/12 - 6;53 PM
GOOD NEWS! As of 3:20 this afternoon we have a confirmation that the camp still stands! Bob Ganns, the local volunteer Fire Chief, drove up through Tip Top Ranch and into Buckhorn Camp. I have now confirmed this through multiple sources.
WE are not out of the "woods" yet. The winds are do to shift tomorrow and the fire is still active, however this is great news!
Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for, not only Buckhorn Camp, but the thousands of people that are impacted by this fire. I will continue to give updates as I confirm them.
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6/12/12 - 1:08 PM
Just returned from morning briefing. It appears the camp is still there, however the latest map on the inciweb site shows that the fire has burned closer to the camp on all sides.
We believe that our Facilities Manger, and our good friend, John Fialko and his wife Linda have lost their home. They live down on Davis Ranch Rd.
CAUTION - there is a lot of false information in the media right now. The two places to go to get the most acurate and updated info is:
Inciweb
Larimer County Emergency Information
I'll put up more when I know more.
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First, my apologies to those who I promised an update on this site yesterday. When I got to our motel room I could not access the internet. This motel is full of evacuees and I think everyone was trying to use it at the same time.
UPDATE:
As you have seen on the news it appears that the fire has calmed down a bit. It is still very active and dangerous and the weather this afternoon will bring some wind and lightning but no rain.
I have no new accurate news. I plan on attending a briefing today at 9 an will hope to update after that. There will be a media briefing at 9:30. Often we get more info at the briefing as they do not allow the press inside.
All the staff, my family, our numerous animals, and myself are safe. We are looking for temporary housing for my family and pets. The pets part makes this somewhat difficult. We are joining everyone in prayer for the camp.
At this time we have made the decision to cancel Camp Hope. We believe that Sky High Hope Camp, the camp for kids with cancer, will also need to be canceled. We are going to wait for more information before we cancel the kids camps.
I will put up more when I know for sure that the news is accurate.
You can see why I am concerned about the winds that are supposed to blow out of the South West today.
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6/13/12 - 6:20 AM
Yes, Buckhorn Camp and Tip Top Ranch are still there! Tip Top lost one of their cabins but the main corral area is intact.
There will be no morning briefing, however at 9:30AM they will do a press briefing. The live briefing today will be at 3:30.
A small note of caution. The fire is not out, is very active, the winds will not be favorable for the camp later today. The camp is not out of danger yet, but it certainly looks WAY better than it did before and we are very hopeful.
Rich and Betty Miller, our camp cooks, are staying at a military base in the Springs. We are going to send Faith Daniels home to Oklahoma. We have canceled all groups up to and through Camp Hope.
Donna, Mat, Justin, and all of our pets are at a motel in FC and doing well. The motel is full of evacuees and pets and we are all helping each other out.
Thank you all for your prayers. I will give another update after the 3PM briefing or if I hear and confirm some new development.
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6/12/12 - 6;53 PM
GOOD NEWS! As of 3:20 this afternoon we have a confirmation that the camp still stands! Bob Ganns, the local volunteer Fire Chief, drove up through Tip Top Ranch and into Buckhorn Camp. I have now confirmed this through multiple sources.
WE are not out of the "woods" yet. The winds are do to shift tomorrow and the fire is still active, however this is great news!
Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for, not only Buckhorn Camp, but the thousands of people that are impacted by this fire. I will continue to give updates as I confirm them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6/12/12 - 1:08 PM
Just returned from morning briefing. It appears the camp is still there, however the latest map on the inciweb site shows that the fire has burned closer to the camp on all sides.
We believe that our Facilities Manger, and our good friend, John Fialko and his wife Linda have lost their home. They live down on Davis Ranch Rd.
CAUTION - there is a lot of false information in the media right now. The two places to go to get the most acurate and updated info is:
Inciweb
Larimer County Emergency Information
I'll put up more when I know more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, my apologies to those who I promised an update on this site yesterday. When I got to our motel room I could not access the internet. This motel is full of evacuees and I think everyone was trying to use it at the same time.
UPDATE:
As you have seen on the news it appears that the fire has calmed down a bit. It is still very active and dangerous and the weather this afternoon will bring some wind and lightning but no rain.
I have no new accurate news. I plan on attending a briefing today at 9 an will hope to update after that. There will be a media briefing at 9:30. Often we get more info at the briefing as they do not allow the press inside.
All the staff, my family, our numerous animals, and myself are safe. We are looking for temporary housing for my family and pets. The pets part makes this somewhat difficult. We are joining everyone in prayer for the camp.
At this time we have made the decision to cancel Camp Hope. We believe that Sky High Hope Camp, the camp for kids with cancer, will also need to be canceled. We are going to wait for more information before we cancel the kids camps.
I will put up more when I know for sure that the news is accurate.
