Coloradans practice wildfire mitigation and evacuation drill
The trees, rocks, and natural beauty of Roxborough Park are a major reason people choose to live there, but they're also what makes the community "very high risk" for wildfire, according to West Metro Fire Rescue.
"It's magnificent. The red rocks just stun you, and you never think about the threat," said Bob Byrne, chair of the Roxborough Mitigation Committee. The Roxborough resident says he now has to think about the threat regularly.
Members of the committee are vigilant about protecting the community they love.
"I am always concerned about the wildfire risk here in this community. It is ever-present," said Fran Santagata with the Douglas County Wildfire Action Collaborative.
They tell neighbors to move anything that could catch fire more than five feet away from their homes.
"That part should be noncombustible materials, things like concrete or gravel that surround your home," said Santagata.
They suggest removing dead trees, leaves and debris, and cutting off the lowest branches of trees.
"The closer you get to the home, the less vegetation you want in those zones. You want to what we call limb up," said Santagata, "if you have many trees in your backyard, you need to have a separation between them, especially to ensure that the crowns don't touch each other."
Fencing and decks should be made of noncombustible materials.
The Roxborough neighbors aren't just trying to mitigate wildfire, they're practicing what to do if one comes. Last week, over 100 of them took part in a fire evacuation drill.
"It was a great simulation of what could really happen except there was no smoke and no panic," Byrne said.
Douglas County sheriff's deputies and the Office of Emergency Management helped guide the neighbors on evacuation routes while wildfire evacuation scientists from the National Fire Protection Association looked on.
"They conducted surveys, they timed, they had drones, they were watching traffic," Byrne said.
The addition of the growing Sterling Ranch community northeast of Roxborough means some evacuation routes may be clogged up, and neighbors may be directed to alternate routes in the event of a fire.
"It just depends upon the situation. Wildfire situations are extremely dynamic," Byrne said.
CORE Electric provides utility services to most of Douglas County.
"This is one of our highest risk communities right here," said Jordan Ambrogi, wildfire mitigation program manager for CORE Electric.
They have their own mitigation strategies to prevent utility-caused ignitions.
"We do a lot of drone-based inspections of our power lines and our facilities," said Ambrogi.
They've never used intentional blackouts, but it's not off the table.
"We also have AI-enabled wildfire cameras that look out and take panoramic images, and if they detect any smoke, then send alerts," Ambrogi said.
Ambrogi says they can also change system settings during high-risk weather to automatically de-energize if a break is detected.
He says CORE has never used intentional blackouts, but it's not off the table.
"It's an absolute last resort, really reserved for those extreme conditions, but it is something we're prepared to do, if necessary," Ambrogi said.
Douglas County residents should sign up for "Code Red" alerts from the county to receive evacuation notices and other safety alerts.
You can sign up here.
