Los Pinos Fire Protection District signed a local disaster emergency declaration Thursday in response to the spread of COVID-19 through Colorado.
The 325-mile district has cut staffing for several years because of financial difficulties. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the district launched a mill levy increase campaign to balance its budget, which could run out of reserve funds in two to four years.
The declaration would allow the district to seek reimbursement for emergency costs should the state or federal governments make funding available to local emergency service providers, according to a district news release.
The disaster declaration will last for seven days with possible renewal by the district board of directors.
“Right now, things are going fairly well,” said Tony Harwig, fire chief. His primary concerns were maintaining staffing and the emergency’s financial strain on the district.
The district signed the disaster declaration to prepare for the “real possibility” that some staff members could need to be quarantined because of COVID-19 and the district’s emergency supply expenses would add to an already strained budget.
The district runs on minimum staffing levels. Each shift includes five crew members, enough to form one ambulance crew and one fire engine crew.
Four of the five stations – which protect the southeast corner of La Plata County, the Arboles area of Archuleta County and portions of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe reservation – are no longer staffed, Harwig wrote in the news release.
So far, no crew members had called out of work, and the crew and administrative staff were separated as a social-distancing strategy, he said.
“I’ve got to keep them as healthy as I can as this rolls through,” Harwig said.
smullane@durangoherald.com
