Paul Capo, the Estes Valley Fire Protection District interim fire chief, sat down with the Estes Valley Voice Wednesday right after being appointed to the job to provide a briefing about what the EVFPD is doing to support the fire fighting efforts in the Alexander Mountain and Stone Canyon Fires while making sure that the Estes Valley is protected.
Capo said that on Monday when news of the Alexander Mountain Fire broke, the EVFPD sent resources. He explained that the District weighs such a decision “pretty heavily in regards to sending firefighters and equipment out of town because of the fact that we have a responsibility in our town.”
“We have some mutual aid close in Allenspark, Pinewood Springs, and Glen Haven that go to our fire academy and we have competency with them. We take pride in having our people and our equipment in our town,” Capo said, but he reiterated that the first priority of the EVFPD is the Estes Valley.
Monday, the EVFPD deployed three trucks—a tender which brings 2,000 gallons of water, a Type 3 vehicle, which is wildland apparatus, and a Type 6 vehicle, which is also a wildland truck—along with 11 firefighters.
On Tuesday, EVFPD sent two wildland vehicles and 7 firefighters.
On Wednesday, however, as the Alexander Mountain Fire edged west toward Drake and Glenhaven, and with so many other fire departments up and down the Front Range spread thin with active fires, the decision was made to keep the EVFPD assets – meaning the trucks and the firefighters – in town.
When the District responds to a request for mutual aid through a memo of understanding or intergovernmental agreement to provide help to a neighboring community, the District must be able to do so while keeping Estes as the priority, said Capo.
The EVFPD doses not deploy apparatus long distance or long term to California and Oregon, or to Loveland for that matter, said Capo, “because then we’re committed.” If there were an immediate need in the Estes Valley and EVFPD assets were on loan to another area, the District might not be able to respond locally.
Capo said he and Estes Park Police Chief Ian Stewart have been in close communication with each other and also with the incident command center located near the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch. They are monitoring the information about winds, temperatures, and the number of acres in order to make critical decisions about the need for evacuation advisories and orders should that be necessary.
Yesterday, in a briefing with Stewart, he stressed the importance of people being wise and planning ahead, especially for those who need to make arrangements for livestock and other animals, or for those who might be taking care of a person with special medical or mobility needs.
An emergency operation center—EOC—was established on Monday at the Estes Park Event Center so local law enforcement and fire protection could monitor the wildfire situation and work together with other support partners. Stewart and Capo are getting briefings from the incident command center in order to inform any critical decisions for Estes Park and the Estes Valley area.
Capo: Firefighter, instructor, and interim chief
Capo has been a firefighter since 1996. He holds a B.A.S. in public safety administration, a master’s degree, and National Registry Paramedic Certification. He is the founder of When Things Go Bad, Inc., a firefighter curriculum and training program that teaches rapid intervention and firefighter survival. He also teaches truck company operations
Capo joined the EVFPD in October 2017 having previously worked for the Clearwater Fire and Rescue Department in Florida. In 2022, Capo was recognized as the Larry Ketelhut Fire Instructor of the year by the Colorado State Fire Chiefs, Colorado Professional Firefighters and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
On June 14, 2023, Capo was named interim chief until the District hired Rick Lasky in April. He again assumes that role with the department as decisions are made about the future leadership of the District.
Capo lives in Estes Park with his wife, Kristie who had been the Estes Park Police Department’s mental health co-responder, and two children.
Local Structure Fire and Updates on Alexander Mountain and Stone Canyon Fires
Reserving assets and personnel proved to be a wise move because on Thursday at 2:04 p.m. the EVFPD was called to a structure fire at 1820 Fall River Rd. The event which was still active on Pulse Point at 5:30 was listed as a 3-alarm fire.
As of this afternoon, the Alexandar Mountain Fire is estimated to cover 8,089 acres with only 1% containment. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Services personnel entered the burn area today and confirmed that approximately two dozen structures have been damaged or destroyed in the immediate area of Palisade Mountain Drive and Snow Top Drive. The next briefing update is expected after 7 p.m.
Also, this afternoon, the Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority in partnership with Boulder County issued a partial all clear for a small portion of the Stone Canyon Fire evacuation areas. Residents and others with reason to return to this area are advised to check www.nocoalert.org to see a map of the all clear area.
Click here for the Estes Valley Voice’s Emergency Information Directory to find contacts for the alert systems for the Town of Estes Park, and for Larimer and Boulder Counties.