Live conditions at Vallecito
Live readings
Every number on this page comes from a public agency and refreshes every fifteen minutes.
Sources: USGS · NWS · USBR/USACE · NIFC · CDOT, plus the lake weather station — refreshed every 15 minutes · How we verify
Weather · near the lake
delayedLake level
delayedSun & moon
Streamflow
delayedAlerts & fire restrictions
Wildfires · within 50 mi
delayedAir quality · smoke
delayedRoads · Durango access
Power · near the lake
delayedChecking before every drive up? Add this page to your home screen (your browser's Share Add to Home Screen, or Install) — it opens like an app, straight to live conditions.
Current weather & 5-day forecast
Current temperature and today's high, low, and 5-day forecast for the lake. Source: —.
About this data
The primary reading comes from the Vallecito Reservoir weather station when it's live; the National Weather Service supplies the forecast and serves as a fallback when the lakeside station goes quiet.
Right now
—
Today
This blends several models and corrects them against the station on the lake itself — full forecast and how it works
Tonight at the Lake
Sunrise, sunset, the moon, dark-sky stargazing, and tomorrow's first bite window — plus a look at the next few days — figured on your device from sun and moon math for the lake. No live data.
Reading tonight's sky…
Active alerts
The fire-restriction stage and the NWS alerts below come from the same feed as the dashboard tile, so they always match.
New — the full guide: Fire restrictions & campfire safety. What each stage means, how to have a safe campfire, fire-free alternatives, and how to report a fire.
National Weather Service alerts
- Loading…
Wildfire activity
Incident count and nearest fire within 50 miles of the lake, from the NIFC WFIGS feed. Our full fire map, perimeters, and incident detail: Wildfire watch . For official write-ups see InciWeb; for real-time alerts, Watch Duty.
Within 50 miles
—
Stay aware
Smoke and closures can change fast in fire season. Check before you tow a boat up, and have an exit plan — there's effectively one paved route in (CR 501; the Getting Here page has the route and the Florida Road alternate).
Air quality & wildfire smoke
Live Air Quality Index (AQI) for the nearest EPA reporting area, the next-day smoke outlook, and what to do when the valley fills with smoke — an intermittent but recurring summer hazard here.
Right now
Sources: PurpleAir community sensor · EPA correction applied (when a nearby sensor is live); AirNow (EPA) regulatory monitor, nearest reporting area · Fire & Smoke Map
Next day or two
Trust your eyes and nose alongside the number — smoke at the lake can differ from the reading.
Where the two readings come from, the smoke-forecast maps, and what to do on a smoke day: smoke & air quality
Sources: AirNow (EPA) AQI & smoke guidance; CDPHE wildfire-smoke health advice. See how we verify.
Vallecito Reservoir
How full the reservoir is right now, shown as a percentage of full pool (the reservoir's full capacity) — about 129,700 acre-feet. The level reflects inflow minus the dam's irrigation releases, so it falls through late summer — see streamflow.
About this data
Storage and pool elevation come from USBR Hydrodata (the Bureau of Reclamation's own daily reservoir data), with USACE CWMS and USBR RISE as fallbacks — measured against the reservoir's ~129,700 acre-foot capacity. (The old USGS reservoir gauge 09353000 is stale and no longer used.) Reclamation updates this daily; occasional multi-day gaps happen on their side, and we flag the reading as a few days old when that occurs.
Storage
—
Lake level over time
Bureau of Reclamation Hydrodata · daily record since 1941 · today’s reading updates every 15 min.
Why the lake rises and falls every year — droughts, record fills, and the spillway problem: the full 85-year story
What it means
Low water pulls ramps and changes where fish hold; high water after a big snow year can cover the day-use areas where people swim at the north end. The marina (970) 884-7000 has the day-to-day read.
Can I launch today?
Ramp season May 1–Nov 1; for today's actual ramp status call the marina, (970) 884-7000. Paperwork, inspection and the full walkthrough: Launching your boat
Inflow gauges & dam outflow
Water flowing into the lake from the two feeder creeks, and the release flowing out of the dam — all in cubic feet per second (cfs). Inflow is USGS instantaneous values; outflow is the daily dam release (USACE/USBR).
- Loading…
About this data
Outflow is the irrigation release to the Pine River valley — the Pine River Project covers about 69,000 acres of project lands downstream (including Southern Ute lands), of which roughly 54,000 are irrigated in a typical year. It's why the lake level falls through late summer.
Getting up the hill
CDOT/COtrip alerts on the Durango access route (US-160) and CR 501. Statewide info: dial 511 or see COtrip.
Status
—
Live road cameras — Durango access
The latest CDOT snapshots on the route in, refreshed automatically while this page is open. Tap a camera for a larger view. There's no camera on CR 501 itself, so for that final climb, dial 511.
US 160 · Bayfield (CR 501 turnoff) — west US 160 · Bayfield (CR 501 turnoff) — east US 160 · east of Bayfield — west US 160 · Wolf Creek Pass — east US 550 · Durango (US 160 junction) — south US 550 · south of Durango — north US 550 · Purgatory — south US 550 · Purgatory — north Cameras: CDOT / COtrip · images refresh every few minutes · a frozen frame usually means the camera, not the road. CDOT doesn't cover CR 501 itself. More COtrip cameras
Outages near the lake
Checking the LPEA outage feed…
Live status
We poll LPEA's public outage feed every 15 minutes and count outages within about 8 miles of the lake. Vallecito is served by La Plata Electric Association.
How to read this
An outage's location is a reporting rollup anchor — the point LPEA uses for the event, not every affected meter — and customer counts can lag or be estimated. For the authoritative, real-time picture always check the LPEA map. More on power, providers, and backup at Utilities & services.
Important local contacts
Cell coverage is spotty up here — screenshot this. In any life-threatening emergency — fire, injury, water rescue — call 911 first.
Contacts provided for convenience and may change — verify with the agency. In any emergency, call 911 first. Sign up for emergency alerts: La Plata County LPC Alerts. Wildfire alerts: Watch Duty.
Fire stations around the lake For emergencies, always call 911
Reference / non-emergency. Upper Pine River FPD runs 8 stations; these three are nearest the lake and the CR 501 route. Several lake stations are non-staffed — don't call a station line in a fire, call 911.
| Station | Location | Phone | Staffing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Station 4 — North Vallecito | 80 W. Vallecito Creek, Bayfield | (970) 444-0030 | Staffed 24/7 |
| Station 2 — Vallecito Dam | 13100 CR 501, Bayfield | (970) 884-8882 | Non-staffed response location |
| Station 5 — Forest Lakes | 6891 CR 501, Bayfield | (970) 884-9707 | Staffed |
Where this data comes from
We pull from the same official feeds the agencies publish. Go straight to them anytime.