Wildfire and flood season is approaching, and the Office of Emergency Management with Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally is hosting a Wildfire Town Hall for the public on Wednesday.

The town hall includes information on preparedness, 2024 weather projections, wildfire, and flood potential, and operational readiness for the coming fire-flood season.

Community mitigation grants have been awarded to neighborhood organizations in Larimer County to help reduce the risks associated with disasters in those communities and increase resilience.

The Larimer County Office of Emergency Management awarded just under $100,000 in 2024 Community Mitigation Grants to 19 neighborhood organizations this year. They were selected because of their strong alignment with the mitigation program.

The mitigation program is offered once per year with more grant applications received this year than any other year the grants have been offered.

The Larimer County Office of Emergency Management is again offering a preparedness class for the community this spring.

The free class, Dare to Prepare, is an educational program focusing on preparedness, personal resilience, disaster management, community building, and leadership. The program helps communities to be better prepared to respond to and recover from disasters in our region.

It also strives to connect communities, since connected communities are more resilient and better able to respond to emergencies.

Grant funding to reduce disaster risk is now available to neighborhoods and communities within Larimer County.

The Community Mitigation Grant Program offered through the Larimer County Office of Emergency Management provides grant awards of up to $10,000 to help remove the obstacles communities confront in making them better prepared to collaborate and become more resilient.

The grant application period is open Jan. 10, 2024 through March 15, 2024. Grant award recipients will be notified by May 1, 2024.

Support Northern Colorado’s First Responders on the Front Range at Hero Fest 2023, a free family event hosted by the Larimer County Office of Emergency Management and Canvas Credit Union.

The event takes place at Front Range Village in Fort Collins in the parking lot next to Urban Air Adventure Park with over 20 different emergency services partners in attendance.

A free, seven-week class on preparedness, resilience, civic engagement, community-building and leadership is being offered to community members to respond to and recover from disasters in our region.

Dare to Prepare, is a two-hour class on Thursday evenings at the Larimer County Emergency Operations Center in Johnstown beginning Sept. 14 and ending Oct. 26, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The deadline to sign up for the class is September 8. Class space is limited, and priority will be given to the first 45 people to sign up for the class. 

It poured rain for days and didn’t stop.

In September 2013, parts of Northern Colorado endured tremendous rainfall which led to destructive flooding and loss of life. We all remember it as the 2013 Flood. Bridges were destroyed, roads disappeared, lives were lost, and public and personal property damage was extensive.

Larimer County is commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the 2013 flood which impacted our lives, brought us together, and strengthened our community in many ways, while fostering community collaboration and resilience.

Area leaders and officials from the State of Colorado will share experiences and stories of recent and historic wildfires, resiliency, and post-wildfire flooding at an upcoming public event in Fort Collins.

Guests at the event include Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally; Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann; Colorado State Forester Matt McCombs; and Larimer County Director of Emergency Management Lori Hodges.