Volunteers come together for fire mitigation projects in Tri-Lakes area

The wildfire in Canada is giving people in the Pikes Peak region a reminder of what could happen locally.

National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day was Saturday.

“We are out here for fire preparedness day and helping mitigate the chance for forest fires in Palmer Lake,” said Mike Smith, one of the volunteers for the event.

Smith said he has personal experience battling wildfires.

“I use to fly the MAFFS aircraft,” he said.

He was also evacuated during one of Colorado most destructive wildfires, Waldo Canyon.

The Coalition for the Upper South Platte, a group whose mission includes preventing future forest fires, said the wildfires in Canada, which Canadian officials said have already burned 200,000 acres, are showing the potential of what the Tri-Lakes area could face.

“It’s a tinderbox. These areas are at high-risk to large catastrophic wild land fires, so when you look out your window as you’re driving up the road, what you’re seeing isn’t truly a natural healthy forest,” CUSP Operations Director Jonathan Bruno said.

That’s why volunteers are clearing up any fire fuels that could affect the Tri-Lakes area to make sure they can save lives and properties if a wildfire ever does happen.

About 50 volunteers were in the Tri-Lakes area to help with fire mitigation projects.