Lost Park Ranch Newswire - Read All About It!

 

Welcome to the Lost Park Ranch Wire, the HOA Board’s new quarterly email communication to keep all owners of LPR

abreast of news in our mountain community. Our goal is to inform and educate with brevity. Each Wire edition will present

three topics, sometimes with a common theme, other times wildly unrelated. So, let’s get started.

 

Winter ’25 is focused on an incredibly timely and critical topic – Wildfires.  Pictured below California Fires 2025, Grand Lake, CO Fire 2022, Hayman Burn, CO 2002, Como, CO Grass Fire 2024, and two 2024 Lightning Strikes in LPR.

 

Notice the trend? Fires surrounding Lost Park culminating in a tree fire just off Derbishire Rd last year. This fire was containedby community members armed with fire extinguishers but not fully put out until Jefferson/Como crews arrived 35 minuteslater. The threat to our entire community is clear and present. As a community, we must act now to protect our community byproviding Water, Bodies, and Education.

 

Water on Fire: The BOD has had numerous meetings with the Jefferson/Como Fire Chief Trent to answer one question –

How does LPR provide the Fire District with adequate water to successfully fight a fire. The Chief’s definitive answer was an

additional water cistern storage of 16,000 gallons. Fire teams arrive with limited water and LPR must provide additional

storage cisterns to aid in suppressing the fire and preserve our community. Initial plans are being finalized combining a

critically needed large cistern located near our fire station, and potentially a limited number of small cisterns on private land

deeper in the community. The BOD will seek grant funding, but in the end our community will still need to combine available financial reserves with a very judiciously determined property assessment. All owners are in this together. Vacant lots might lose 100% of value with a fire. Homes will lose even higher sums though increasingly unattainable insurance may allow for a partial offset of losses.

 

Bodies on Water: Water absolutely needs a human at the end of the hose. In Park County firefighting is accomplished in

large part with volunteers. Currently LPR contributes no man/woman volunteer power to assist. The BOD is examining ways

that at a modest cost our community might support volunteer firefighter time and education for able-bodied owners that are full or part-time residents to represent LPR. The Fire Chief is also exploring Auxiliary positions with less time commitment. Please consider if you can play even a minor role and contact the BOD for more information at http://lproa.org The recent LPR tree strike could have devastated our community. Imagine how much quicker the response could have been if a LPR volunteer drove our own fire truck out to the scene and readied it for use by the entire Jefferson/Como team upon their arrival.

 

Education on Prevention: Every Owner can do their part towards fire mitigation with work on their own property by creating

defensible space alongside tree thinning. For information review https://csfs.colostate.edu/wildfire-mitigation/protect-

your-home-property-from-wildfire/ Also, imagine if every Owner had 2-3 strategically located large fire extinguishers in

their cabin, or perhaps one in their trunk while camping on their land. Everyone should be aware of Fire Bans https://

www.jcfpd.org/current-fire-restrictions All of us can educate and report short-term rental groups violating guidelines and

putting all of our properties at risk. As a community we must act now. The BOD is committed to lead the way. Please join us.

 

 

Future Newsletter Topics: BOD Elections/Volunteers, Water Augmentation, Your Suggestions, Etc.

 

CLICK HERE for a Downloadable Copy