La Plata County authorities, county fire-protection agencies and their federal partners ploughed through 23 pages of text and numbers Monday to reach tentative agreement on their Annual Operating Plan to manage firefighting.
The plan, known as AOP, which today has 17 signatories, dates to the early 1970s. It covers responsibilities and procedures on mutual aid and cost sharing for wildland firefighting.
As the cost of wildland fire suppression increases, it was no surprise that all entities at the table wanted costs to be shared equitably.
La Plata County Manager Joe Kerby, County Attorney Sheryl Rogers, Assistant County Attorney Adam Smith and Director of Emergency Management Butch Knowlton made the case to limit the amount the county can contribute to fight wildfires to $500,000.
The county faces a potential bill of $250,000 as its proportional share of 2012 firefighting, Smith said. The county also was blindsided recently with the possibility of a potential bill of $77,000 to cover its share to fight for two fires in 2011.
“We had no idea it was coming,” Rogers said of the latter billing.
The only sure number is $120,750, the maximum the county will pay for the 2012 Stateline Fire, Smith said. The limit was reached through negotiations with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, he said.
The Stateline Fire scorched 350 acres in La Plata County and Southern Ute Indian Tribe reservation land from June 23 to July 10. It was one of nine fires of more than 100 acres that swept 39,050 acres in Southwest Colorado last year.
Rogers said the county must know as early as possible what its firefighting costs are liable to be. The county can’t spend more than it has budgeted in any single category, she said.
“If the county’s actual and potential wildland fire obligations exceed $500,000, the Sheriff shall immediately request the (state) Division of Fire Prevention & Control enter into an agreement to transfer authority and responsibility for all new or continued wildland fire suppression regardless of the fire’s size, scope or location,” the agreement says.
In an effort to make sure that cost of shared fire suppression is divided equitably, plan participants nitpicked the meaning of unified command, the length of a mutual-aid period and how soon transfer of authority, delegation of command and cost-sharing agreements must be reached.
Many issues drew close attention.
Larry Behrens from Upper Pine Fire Protection District wanted “qualified” incident commanders. “If I commit my men to a fire, I want an incident commander with wildfire management experience,” he said.
Smith responded: “Who says who is qualified?”
Knowlton called for patience in designating an incident commander. “We have to stand unified, go further than we have until we find a qualified person.”
The 17 parties are expected to sign the Annual Operating Plan, which runs from May 1 to April 30, 2014. La Plata County commissioners are scheduled to act April 30.
daler@duangoherald.com
