Mineral County Sheriff's Office

06/28/2022

RGNF has lifted their fire restrictions. Mineral County has followed suit and has also lifted restrictions.

Common-sense fire safety is obviously always welcome. Please exercise caution.

Rio Grande National Forest lifts fire restrictions

Welcome rains have moderated fire danger

Monte Vista, CO — June 27, 2022 – Effective 12:00 p.m. on Monday, June 27, 2022, fire restrictions will be removed for all lands managed by the Rio Grande National Forest.

“The early onset of the monsoon this year has provided significant relief from the dry conditions we were experiencing,” said Chad Lewis, Fire Management Officer for the Rio Grande National Forest. “Although conditions are improving, there may be isolated locations that haven’t received as much rain and could easily burn from carless mistakes.” Lewis encourages visitors to practice these principles of outdoor fire safety:
• Clear all burnable material within three feet of campfire rings.
• Keep fires small and manageable.
• Never leave a fire unattended.
• Extinguish fires completely. If it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to leave.

Forest officials would also like to remind all visitors that fireworks are always illegal on federally managed lands. Please leave them at home this July fourth holiday season.

For information on the Rio Grande National Forest, call (719) 850-2374, visit the forest website, or follow us on our page or Twitter.

06/23/2022

6/23/22 ATTENTION Mineral County CenturyLink Users:
All CenturyLink services are down due to a cut line that occurred this morning in Creede.

This means that all CenturyLink customers both in the town of Creede and upriver are without landline phone service and internet access. CenturyLink customers will not be able to call 911 from their landlines in the case of Emergency. All emergency calls will have originate via cell phones until the issue is resolved.

CenturyLink tells us that service should be restored by 4AM tomorrow morning 6/24.

If you see this post and know anyone who relies on CenturyLink service who may not have access to this message, please pass it along.

05/18/2022

NEWS RELEASE: The Plumtaw Fire is burning 7 miles north of Pagosa Springs, 2 miles west of the intersections of Plumtaw and Fourmile Roads. An evacuation notice has been issued for the Lost Valley of the San Juans, located in Mineral County, CO. No further evacuations or pre-evacuations have been ordered at this time. For evacuation information, contact the Archuleta County Emergency Operations Call Center at 970-422-7084. The fire area will be closed to the public, including Fourmile Road (NFSR 645) at the forest boundary, and Plumtaw Road (NFSR 634) from the junction of McManus Road (NFSR 633). This closure includes Fourmile Falls Trailhead.

The Plumtaw Fire was mapped via infrared satellite imagery at 613 acres as of 10am this morning. Overnight, the fire backed down to within 150 feet of Fourmile Road (NFSR 645). Firefighters sent a low-intensity fire from the road to meet the oncoming fire to create a buffer, an operation known as a “burn out.” This strategic tool will allow for better visibility during the day and provide opportunities to work off Fourmile Road as a holding line. Hazardous fuels treatments completed in 2021 along the Fourmile Road helped crews hold the fire at that road.

Today fire personnel will focus efforts on the northeast corner near Four Mile Road (NFSR 400), protecting the Fourmile Creek watershed and Lost Valley Subdivision and keeping the fire north of Plumtaw Road (NFSR 634). The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The San Juan National Forest will enter Stage 1 Fire Restrictions at 12:01am on Friday, May 20. More information is to come this week on fire restriction implementation.

For regular up-to-date information on the Plumtaw Fire, visit the InciWeb page: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8113/

05/13/2022

EFFECTIVE MONDAY MAY 16TH: STAGE 1 FIRE RESTRICTIONS

Due to the weather being drier and windier than typical for this time of year, Mineral County is entering Stage 1 Fire Restrictions.

Main points on prohibited activities under Stage 1
-No agricultural burning
-No burn barrels
-No burning of trash
-No campfires in rock campfire rings, only metal fire rings are permitted

Please see attached photo for all restrictions under Stage 1

Feel free to give us a call with further questions

(719)658-2600 Option 2

07/12/2021

Smoke in the area
This clip shows how the smoke suspended above Creede and it’s surrounding area has blown in from the north and west. As of the writing of this post, air quality is rated at a 146 AQI, meaning “Unhealthy for some: sensitive members of the population may experience health effects if exposed for more than 24 hours.” If you are part of the sensitive population, it is recommended you stay indoors with the windows closed, and use air filters if you have them.
The smoke map can be accessed here https://hwp-viz.gsd.esrl.noaa.gov/smoke/index.html?fbclid=IwAR3pw-Dry8EbiqlC81W7ygWS3smQkHXpHLLjOe2_S77JxrMNoSs0brM2vb0 #
For real-time air quality scores:
Www.purpleair.com

06/08/2021

We have received calls from folks concerned about the smoky atmosphere around Creede this morning. As you can see from this smoke map, the smoke we are seeing in the area has drifted over from the fires east of Phoenix, AZ.
You can access this map by clicking this link: https://hwp-viz.gsd.esrl.noaa.gov/smoke/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1R9PGOaHbJJw2OvGe-MHDK-0FBdEn_TaZyJhmfRn1Koio-PQx-pGalFK8

We are also monitoring air quality in the area resulting from the smoke. Air quality in the area is currently rated at 95, defined by Purple Air to mean: 51-100 Air quality is acceptable; however, if they are exposed for 24 hours there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Purpleair.com

06/02/2021

Hey, all! Effective immediately, dispatch is being transitioned from Mineral County Sheriff's Office to Colorado State Patrol in Alamosa.
What does this mean for you?
Whenever you have an emergency in Mineral County, dial 911.

Our deputies are distributing informational flyers, as well as refrigerator magnets to folks in Mineral County today and moving forward. We also have them available at the Sheriff's Office for pick-up should we miss you.

We understand this may be a pesky transition for some folks. Feel free to contact us with any questions you have regarding this transition.

Thank you for all your support, now let's have a great summer!

03/23/2021

ATTENTION:
Today at 1pm, Mineral County Emergency Services will be hosting a procession of vehicles down Creede’s Main Street to honor those fallen in Boulder’s tragedy yesterday.
If you would like to participate with your own vehicle in the drive down Main Street alongside emergency vehicles, please meet at the Fire House at 12:50.
Our hearts are breaking for the families of the victims, as well as Boulder PD.
If you cannot join us, a video will be posted of the procession as well to view afterwards.
Any questions call us at (719)658-2600

01/05/2021

Mineral County Sheriff's Office has received multiple reports of Unemployment Fraud. The victims have received letters from Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and/or a Reliacard debit card from US Bank. Each victim had a verification of employment sent to their employers as well.
If you received any of these items in the mail, please give us a call so we can file a police report for you.
Other steps to take:
-File a report through the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment via this link: https://cdle.colorado.gov/fraud-prevention
-Call US Bank to cancel the debit card if you received one.
-Visit annualcreditreport.com and review each credit report from the three credit bureaus and check for any discrepancies.
-File either a Fraud Alert through any one of the three credit bureaus and/or file Identity Theft through idenitytheft.gov
We are working with the FBI for more answers regarding this fraud and will update here when we get those answers.

11/18/2020