Inmates to conduct fire mitigation in Pueblo along the Arkansas River

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - In 2025, Pueblo will complete fire mitigation along the Arkansas River, but it won't be done by the people you might expect.

A new agreement approved by Pueblo City Council Monday night hires inmates from the Department of Corrections in Canon City to complete the mitigation, and officials say it won't cost taxpayers a dime.

"It's going to be huge for us, and it's going to be huge for the surrounding neighborhoods," Tim Trujillo, Pueblo Fire Department, tells KRDO13 the thick brush areas along the Arkansas River is hard for firefighters to get to and navigate. They also go up in smoke quickly.

The Pueblo Fire Department says the mitigation by the SWIFT Team will take place along the Arkansas River between Pueblo Boulevard and Main Street.

This is the second year of the agreement, in the first year the SWIFT Team performed mitigation work along the Arkansas River and Lake Minnequa.

"To get in here and get the bulk of this [brush] down really is going to make it a lot easier for us to manage fires when they happen in this area [Lake Minnequa] and along the Arkansas River," Trujillo said.

The agreement is for the inmates on the SWIFT team to do fire mitigation work for 15 weeks. The Pueblo Fire Department couldn't say when the work will start, that is up to the Department of Corrections.

Most likely the 15 weeks won't be consecutive, and when the team does the work will depend on the weather.