Wildfire – The Durango Herald

Crews fight new wildfire north of Norwood in Uncompahgre Forest

Fire has moderate spread potential, Forest Service says

DATE: Jun 30, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Could prescribed burns curb the health impacts of wildfires?

Controlled fire seen as a tool to mitigate some of the harm, report says

DATE: Jun 23, 2022 | CATEGORY: Southwest Life

Labor shortage compounds federal firefighters’ staffing woes

SALT LAKE CITY – Firefighter groups are applauding the Biden administration’s steps to raise pay but warn that the temporary wage increases won’t be enough to combat staffing problems, as fe...

DATE: Jun 22, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Arizona fires sweep land rich with ancient sites, artifacts

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – As Jason Nez scans rugged mountains, high desert and cliffsides for signs of ancient tools and dwellings unique to the U.S. Southwest, he keeps in mind that they're part o...

DATE: Jun 20, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Update: Buster Fire in Dolores County extinguished

Rain helped put out 3-acre wildfire in San Juan National Forest

DATE: Jun 20, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

20 years later: Missionary Ridge Fire torched homes, devastated lives and taught us lessons

As Durango looks back on the historic blaze, those who were there recall conditions similar to today

DATE: Jun 18, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Wildfire breaks out in San Juan forest in Dolores County

Buster Fire is 3 acres; federal Type 2 crew is fighting blaze

DATE: Jun 17, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Summer rainy season sets up across Four Corners

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Some Arizona residents were battered by flooding last year when the summer rainy season known simply as the monsoon unleashed on mountains that have been scorched by flame...

DATE: Jun 15, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Local governments and land agencies upgrade fire restrictions

Stage 2 bans campfires in San Juan National Forest, among other activities

DATE: Jun 14, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Smoke, dust darken Durango skies

Fires burning in Arizona linked to Monday’s haze in Southwest Colorado

DATE: Jun 13, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Western wildfires force evacuations in Arizona, California

Smoke from blaze near Flagstaff causes hazy skies in Colorado

DATE: Jun 13, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Durango Air Tanker Base to undergo renovations

San Juan National Forest will invest more than $1 million to keep the critical firefighting resource up to date

DATE: Jun 9, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

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Photos: Parade launches 2024 Connie Mack World Series in FarmingtonFans line street as players march on Main Damp, overcast weather cooled off the crowd lining Main Street on Friday morning for the 2024 Connie Mack World Series Parade. The hourlong parade began shortly after 10 a.m. in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Fans line street as players march on Main

Photos: ‘Mini Takes the States’ tour stops in DurangoHundreds of Mini Cooper vehicles occupy Fort Lewis College on Sunday; Participants began the journey in Albuquerque and will finish in Seattle

Hundreds of Mini Cooper vehicles occupy Fort Lewis College on Sunday; Participants began the journey in Albuquerque and will finish in Seattle

Photos: Boxing returns to DurangoAnimus on the Animas: 1st Annual Durango Boxing Classic at the Durango Main Mall on Saturday

Animus on the Animas: 1st Annual Durango Boxing Classic at the Durango Main Mall on Saturday

Photos and video: Going for the gold by devouring piesContestants try their best to win the Oscar’s Pie Eating Contest on Friday in Durango

Contestants try their best to win the Oscar’s Pie Eating Contest on Friday in Durango

Photo: Fireworks light the sky in DurangoDurango celebrates Independence Day on Thursday night

Durango celebrates Independence Day on Thursday night

Photos: Working with woodLocal craftsman uses wood joinery, rather than nails or screws to construct homes and other structures

Local craftsman uses wood joinery, rather than nails or screws to construct homes and other structures

2024 Fourth of July Parade draws crowd Thursday in downtown Durango

Photos: Downtown Durango hosts Fourth of July ParadeDowntown sidewalks were full for Thursday’s celebration

Downtown sidewalks were full for Thursday’s celebration

Durango Rotary Club, Parks and Recreation department host Independence Day events

Law enforcement conducts active threat training at Park Elementary SchoolResidents may see and hear police activity Thursday and Friday

Law enforcement agencies across Southwest Colorado sent officers to participate in active threat training this week at Park Elementary School in Durango. Those in the neighborhood can expect police vehicles parked on the premises, officers in tactical gear conducting exercises inside and outside the school, and signs advising that training is in progress. The sounds of shouting, airsoft weapons and the popping of a starter pistol will also be audible near the school, said Karla Sluis, spokeswoman for Durango School District 9-R.Sluis said that members of the school district’s safety department have gone door-to-door with flyers notifying residents around Park Elementary School about the training.

Hosted by the Durango Police Department and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, this week’s voluntary training invited officers from law enforcement agencies across a five-county region of Southwest Colorado encompassing La Plata, Archuleta, San Juan, Montezuma and Dolores counties.

La Plata County Sheriff’s Office deputy Durango Police Department Deputy Mike Latham, lead instructor for this week's training, said Wednesday and the first half of Thursday were mostly preparatory, teaching officers the school’s layout and devising scenarios, whereas the latter half of Thursday and Friday residents should anticipate some noise as active threat scenarios play out.

Latham said active threat training teaches officers proper protocol during active threat scenarios, especially in densely populated areas where they have become increasingly common.Park Elementary School is not the only Durango School District facility law enforcement has conducted active threat training. Latham said schools lend themselves well to this sort of training because, “It gives us all kinds of doors to work on, different rooms, different scenarios we can run. We can pretend it’s a mall with nice big corridors, we can even pretend it’s an outdoor area in the gymnasium.”Latham has participated in active threat training multiple times in the past and described the drills as exhilarating and nerve-wracking. He said one of the training’s main goals is teaching officers how to manage stress and remain calm with lives on the line.

“I take a pulse oximeter in the morning and get a baseline on their heart rates,” Latham said. “And sometimes, just before they’re about to engage a threat, I say ‘Timeout.’ Put it (the oximeter) on there, and their heart rate’s skyrocketed to 140, 150, 160 just in training.”

Latham said throughout his career active threat training has evolved to become safer for officers and fall in line with increasingly professional police standards.“When I first started we were just running into halls and rooms hoping for the best,” Latham said. “Now the tactic is still to get there, still stop the taking of lives, but tactics are much better than they were 20 years ago.”

Residents may see and hear police activity Thursday and Friday

Crews fight new wildfire north of Norwood in Uncompahgre Forest

Could prescribed burns curb the health impacts of wildfires?

Labor shortage compounds federal firefighters’ staffing woes

Arizona fires sweep land rich with ancient sites, artifacts

Update: Buster Fire in Dolores County extinguished

20 years later: Missionary Ridge Fire torched homes, devastated lives and taught us lessons

Wildfire breaks out in San Juan forest in Dolores County

Summer rainy season sets up across Four Corners

Local governments and land agencies upgrade fire restrictions

Smoke, dust darken Durango skies

Western wildfires force evacuations in Arizona, California

Durango Air Tanker Base to undergo renovations

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