Volunteer Fire Dept
PO Box 234
McCoy, Colorado 80463
To provide first response fire and medical emergency service in the Colorado River watershed extending from Radium westerly to Burns.
Our Vision: The purpose for which the Rock Creek Volunteer Fire Department is formed is to train, equip, facilitate and ready the dispatch of strictly volunteer emergency personnel in coordinated response with established emergency service agencies in Eagle County, Routt County, Grand County; Federal and State agencies including the United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Forest Service etc.
The effectiveness of this organization can be only as reliable as the membership, and the dedication of the volunteers, and the full support of the community.
HISTORY:
The early inhabitants of the area were Ute Indians. Ute Chief Yarmonite was a very gentle man in his fifties. He only sought peace and harmony between the early settlers and the Indians. The first pioneers started to homestead in the 1880-1890’s in Burns. Pioneers settled here because “a principle feature which attracted homesteaders was the accessibility of both low lands of the Grand River and the high grassy parks around the Flat Tops range” per Early McCoy, Clark Ewing.The High Desert of McCoy, Bond, Burns, State Bridge, Copper Spur (Coppertown), Rancho Del Rio, Sheephorn and Catamount brought many new start settlers to the area.
Also known as the “stockman’s paradise” with cedar breaks, the attraction was to ranch, graze, mine, timber, hunt, fish and seek a better life. The stagecoach would travel through the towns from Wolcott (Russell) and Steamboat Springs.McCoy was considered “a hitching post” and welcomed the travelers to stretch their legs and get a good dinner at the McCoy Hotel. In McCoy Memoirs, John Ambos stated that when the town of McCoy was appointed a post office in 1891 it was the distribution point for Burns and Sheephorn.>The Rocky Mountain News was quoted as calling McCoy “the liveliest town in Colorado”.
Farming also had a boom and bust with alfalfa, grains, potatoes and lettuce.With the railroad building thru the towns, ice packed cars would carry lettuce to Denver and beyond.The railroad still is a life line snaking through the red rocks and dry high desert lands of the area. Many long trains carrying coal and freight at all hours of the day and night with a smattering of Amtrak trains filled with tourists.Logging trucks are also in constant motion on Highway 131; 24 trucks per day taking all the cut beetle kill logs to southern Colorado saw mills.
Fast forwarding to the locals today, most of the residents travel to the I-70 corridor for work. They are in good company with many Routt County/Steamboat residents that also travel to the Eagle Valley for employment. There are a few cattle ranches left, some with a new breed of livestock: elk and alpacas. Bands of sheep are starting to show a revival in the region.
All-season recreation activities,
including rafting, fishing, hiking, hunting and snowmobiling lure many visitors
to the area on weekends.
The Rock Creek Academy (old McCoy
School) has reopened with 7 children and more on a waiting list for next
year. School events are the heart of
the community while senior citizens continue to meet once a month for
fellowship and friendship. Church is
well attended every Sunday and more and more community members are watching the
Rock Creek Fire volunteers and their activities.
Some things have not changed; two of
the four of the Fire Board of Directors are direct descendants of area
pioneers. The volunteers live in the community and consist of teachers,
administrators, plumbers, accountants, raft guides, carpenters and ranchers.
The majority of fire, both wildland and structural, and EMS training and
direction of the department are provided by local/regional professional EMT’s
and firefighters.
The spirit of the community is very
traditional in nature, independent and deeply committed to a peaceful existence
similar to that of the area’s historic past.
Board Members
PresidentJim Matlock
653-4340
Chairman
Earl Skiles
653-4329
Jake Stull
653-4439
Chairman
Darrell Cooter
653-6349
Fire Chief
Brita Horn
653-4497
Treasurer
Shelle Walker
653-4019