Colorado's Summit County plans for evacuations, sharing of resources ahead of expected wildfires
Summit County leaders are already preparing for what they believe is an inevitable wildfire season in Colorado, following a winter defined by record-low snowpack and unusually dry conditions.
Summit County Commissioner Eric Mamula warned that the concern is no longer hypothetical.
"It's not if, it's when," Mamula said, referencing what leaders at Red White and Blue Fire told him at a recent meeting. "We will have fires this summer, it will happen. We just need to be ready for it. You can't be lax about it."
That urgency prompted the county to bring together fire departments, law enforcement, and state and federal partners to begin planning now, before any fire starts, for the first of two community meetings, sorting out how each partner will work together when things get tough.
"We're looking at historic drought levels, a historic lack of snow, a potentially historic fire season here in Summit County," Mamula said.
Part of that planning includes working through real-world complications, such as major construction projects that impact affect evacuations.
"We have roads closed, Swan Mountain Road will be closed for the majority of the summer," Mamula said. "We need to work through things like evacuation plans."
Another concern is whether there will be enough firefighting resources to go around if conditions worsen across the western parts of the US.
"There will be so much activity that support will be spread across not only Colorado but the entire west," he said.
It's why officials are urging residents and visitors to take preparedness seriously now, while there's still time to reduce risk.
"Things work out better if everybody's prepared," Mamula said.
That includes clearing flammable materials around homes and making sure people understand evacuation plans before they're needed. Summit Fire & EMS will also come out to your property free of charge to help identify areas that could use mitigation.
"People that own homes need to be out making sure they're clearing brush within five feet of their homes," he said.
Even outreach to more transient populations is part of the effort, especially in preventing human-caused fires.
"We need to get to them to tell them about the dangers of leaving an unattended campfire," Mamula explained.
Another effort will be going into local schools to make sure students understand that a simple mistake can be the start of something tragic for everyone in the mountain communities.
Despite recent snowfall, Mamula said this season has been one for the books he'd like to forget.
"I've lived here 40 years. I've never seen a season like this," he said.
