Drought conditions have been increasing for more than 20 years in Southwest Colorado, and this summer we’re seeing the results of that drying trend on a disturbing scale. The entirety of La Plata County is now in a moderate to severe drought, with large swathes of the state to our north and east already experiencing extreme drought. Within days (and hours) of each other late last month, the Ute 63, Rim Road and Elkhorn fires ignited in La Plata County and, while those are largely contained, many other fires in our region are actively burning.
Fighting wildfires is a tremendous team effort, and La Plata County has an important role on the team. We don’t have a fire department – the firefighters come from local fire districts, state and federal crews and air bases throughout Colorado and the United States. Our job is to provide support for the firefighters while performing our most crucial task – that of keeping La Plata County’s residents and visitors safe and informed when disaster strikes.
The Rim Road and Elkhorn fires exemplify what it looks like when the team is successful. Our Office of Emergency Management, expertly overseen by Shawna Legarza with Rob Farino running the Emergency Operations Center, worked first on the Ute 63 and Rim Road fires with Southern Ute and Bureau of Indian Affairs fire crews, then transitioned to support state and federal crews at Elkhorn. Sheriff Sean Smith and his deputies likewise were ubiquitous throughout, implementing road closures and conducting evacuations and protecting private property as each incident dictated.
When the EOC is activated, as it has been several times this summer, La Plata County employees go from everyday heroes to superheroes. Shawna’s OEM roster consists of employees who work their day jobs in finance, the county attorney’s office, general services, information technology, GIS, communications, the county fairgrounds, road & bridge, public health and human services. Each of them plays a vital role on our emergency management team and participates in drills and exercises year-round to be prepared when disaster strikes – and each of these elements, as well as the fire itself, has a fiscal element that affects the county’s general fund. This is important to keep in mind as the county faces an extremely challenging and constrained budget picture. In all, our preparation has clearly paid off and we could not be more proud of how they are performing during this extremely challenging fire season.
We also want to take this opportunity to thank our residents for how you have handled the many inconveniences, fears and frustrations inherent during disaster events. Many of you were forced to leave your homes with no guarantee of returning, while others waited for the order to come at any time. What we saw from you in return were messages of thanks, gifts of food, water and supplies, and unwavering support for all of the emergency personnel who came to La Plata County to fight the fires or were already here. Thank you.
What we do not want to see is people getting in the way of operations, flying drones over active firefighting (which can land a person in jail), ignoring road closures, pulling over to look at fires, ignoring evacuations and otherwise disrupting the work of those fighting the fires and keeping the community safe. Each time one of these incidents occurs means one or more emergency responders has to stop responding to the emergency and deal with the distraction – all a safety risk for everyone including them. Please follow rules which support our first responders.
Our Emergency Management website http://bit.ly/47CYvkC has all the information you need to be ready in the event of a disaster, from packing a “go bag” to registering for CodeRED emergency alerts. It’s worth the time.
Again, thank you to everyone and all partners, near and far, working to keep us safe and sound in La Plata County.
The La Plata County Board of County Commissioners is Marsha Porter-Norton, Chair, Matt Salka, Vice-Chair, and Elizabeth Philbrick. Reach them at (970) 382-6219.
