Grand County Life - Local News + Information

Be Wildfire Ready: Understanding Fire Safety + Restrictions

Know Before You Burn: Your Guide to Fire Safety + Grand County Fire Restriction Levels

Hopefully you've had a chance to read the first and second posts in this Be Wildfire Ready series! If so, you've probably knocked out those four quick and easy prep steps and maybe even started exploring some of the home and neighborhood mitigation resources Grand County Wildfire Council has to offer. If you're just tuning in, feel free to go back and catch up when you get a chance. Preparing our homes and properties for wildfire is obviously important, but so is doing everything we can to prevent wildfires from getting started in the first place! According to the U.S. Forest Service, nearly 85% of wildfires in the United States are caused by humans: cigarettes,…

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Be Wildfire Ready: Protect Your Property

Take Advantage of Grand County Wildfire Council's Free Risk Assessments, Cost-Share Programs, Chipping Days, Home Hardening Resources, and Firewise Designation Support

Hopefully you've already taken care of the four quick and easy ways to prepare for a wildfire highlighted in the last post: signing up for GC Alerts, ordering a reflective address sign, knowing your evacuation zone, and bookmarking your fire info sources. Now let's dig into how you can actively protect your property against wildfire risk. It's often your most valuable asset, so it's absolutely worth protecting! The good news is we have some incredible local resources to help you. Grand County Wildfire Council (GCWC), a local nonprofit that's been working to keep Grand County residents…

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Be Wildfire Ready: Start Here

Quick & Easy Wildfire Prep: GC Alerts, Address Signs, Evacuation Zones & Helpful Resources

With this year’s seemingly unprecedented lack of winter moisture, we’re all aware of the fire dangers that come with heading into a dry summer. May is designated as Wildfire Awareness Month, and with the East Troublesome Fire still fresh in our rearview mirror and longtime Grand County residents struggling to recall a winter with so little snow, being prepared for wildfire season feels especially pressing this year.

This is the first in a three-part “Being Wildfire Ready” series designed to help you prepare your home, property, and family for wildfire season while taking advantage of the local resources available right here in Grand County. I think we’d…

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Looking Ahead: Fraser Adopts a New Comprehensive Plan

Fraser Forward: The Town's New Plan Embraces Fraser's Spirit + Character While Connecting Housing, Jobs, Safety, and Outdoor Recreation Into One Community-Centered Shared Vision 

Our fun, funky little mountain town is looking toward the future with intention. There’s no question the Fraser Valley is growing in both popularity and population, and the Town of Fraser is committed to guiding that growth wisely without losing its unique character. You’ve probably seen the “Keep Fraser Funky” stickers or “Leaving Planet Earth” hats around town: Fraser embraces its outside-the-box personality and intends to stay true to its artsy, entrepreneurial, and free-spirited roots as it envisions the future.

The Town’s newly adopted Comprehensive Plan offers a…

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Youth Sports: Loving Lacrosse in Grand County!

Grand County Goes Big with Lacrosse: Club + High School Teams are Growing Our Mountain Kids' Love for the Fast-Paced, Fun "Medicine Game"

For a small mountain town, our local kids have more and more opportunities every year - especially when it comes to youth sports! Between the amazing programs offered by the Fraser Valley Recreation Association and Granby Recreation, and the dedication of local community members who have volunteered countless hours to build club teams like the Fraser Valley Hockey Association, Grand County Soccer Club, 8058 Peak Volleyball Club, and Fraser Valley Lacrosse Club, our mountain kids have no shortage of ways to get involved and experience all the benefits of playing a team sport.

Lacrosse, spearheaded by the Fraser…

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Sign Up for Summer: Your Guide to Grand County Summer Camps!

Take Advantage of Summer Day Camps, Specialty Programs, and Overnight Adventures for Kids in Grand County

While we’re still thinking about Spring Splash, the Jane Beach, and those slushy spring bumps, it might be time to do a little summer dreaming, too! Those of us with younger kids also know this season as the time to pull out the calendar and start signing up for summer camps! Whether you’ll be in town for part of the summer or here full time, Grand County summers are about as good as it gets. Hiking, biking, fishing, boating, camping, s’mores by the fire, and all the outdoor fun and adventure you can imagine can easily fill your days. But you also might be looking for activities to enrich your kids' summer while you work or head out on a…

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Middle Park Panthers Hit the Ice: MPHS Hockey is Officially on the Roster!

Middle Park High School Launches Its First-Ever Ice Hockey Team! 

You might be wondering how a community known for its winter sports is just now introducing a high school hockey team?! It’s no small feat to bring a new high school–level sport to a rural community, where both resources and players are coveted. But ice hockey in a place eponymous for winter sports is meant to be! It’s been a labor of love with years of commitment and a whole lot of tenacity from hockey lovers throughout the Fraser Valley to finally usher in a new season for Middle Park High School - one with its very own hockey team!

East Grand School District (home to Fraser Valley Elementary, Granby Elementary, East Grand Middle School, and Middle Park High School) kicked off…

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Mary Jane's 50th Birthday

No Pain, No Jane: Celebrating 50 Years of Skiing + Riding Winter Park's "Wild Side"

I’m a firm believer that every day in the mountains is worth celebrating. I never want to take for granted the alpenglow over snow-capped peaks, the view from the top of a summit, the ability to hop on trails right out my back door, or the slower pace of life. But this year, there's even more to celebrate here in Winter Park: Mary Jane’s 50th birthday!

Winter Park Resort’s Mary Jane territory ( “the Jane side”) is known for its steep, deep, and raw terrain. Largely ungroomed, the trails on the Jane develop some of the best moguls around. Couple those bumps with the steep pitch and it’s easy to see why the “No Pain, No Jane” slogan rings true. And if you spend a…

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Let it Snow! Winter Park Resort Invests Big in Snowmaking

Winter Park Resort Ups Its Game with 37 Million Dollar Investment in Snowmaking Capacity

Winter Park Resort kicked off the ski season on Halloween this year, tying its 2022–23 season record for earliest opening day since its inaugural season in 1940. With a late start to the snowy season, the resort’s $37 million investment in snowmaking capacity is clearly already paying off! After a relatively dry fall, the hopes of opening before Thanksgiving would’ve been dashed without a big push to build snow coverage as soon as the temps dropped low enough. They started blowing snow the night of October 16, covering enough ground for the lifts to start turning on October 31.

The investment in an upgraded system (that more than doubled the volume of water…

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