Wildfire management response training in Fremont County near Royal Gorge
FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Ahead of what will be ten years since the devastating Royal Gorge Fire this June, wildfire training is underway in the area to prevent the disaster from repeating.
Monday, KRDO joined firefighters training in Fremont County on the first day of a three-day wildfire training exercise for local and state fire authorities.
Around 30 firefighters arrived Monday afternoon at the burn scar of the YMCA fire in the summer of 2020.
This event is a command and general staff exercise. Managers were brought together this week who would potentially be working or managing a larger fire if was to happen.
"We're utilizing a real-life scenario, in which all incidents start small, local jurisdiction. Once it exceeds their capabilities, it goes to the sheriff. If it exceeds that capability, they ask the state to come in," said Tony Simons with the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
This is all about teamwork and communicating to ensure that everything and everyone will be at the rice place at the right time. These are valuable skills for local firefighters who don't have much big-fire experience.
"We just had a training exercise last week, down on the 115 corridor. I'm just hoping to see how the state's doing it, so we can take that knowledge back over," explained Rachel Dunn with the Black Forest Fire Department.
Authorities told KRDO they do this type of wildfire training once a year. They plan on making the next three days count so that it'll make a big difference down the road.
