Sky Sox Stadium offers baseball, disaster readiness

By moving a disaster education event up three months, organizers hoped to give people a head start to prepare for emergencies.

“We thought with flood season already here and fire season coming, having (the event) earlier was a good idea,” said Capt. David Vitwar, of the Colorado Springs Office of Emergency Management, regarding the annual Community Emergency Preparedness Day.

The event, in its seventh year, is held outside Sky Sox Stadium and usually takes place at the end of summer. Holding the event at the beginning of summer gives people three additional months to make disaster preparations.

Many fans remained after the game to see activities and displays from 14 local agencies, to educate people about preparing for disasters.

“There still are a lot of people who aren’t prepared,” Vitwar said.
“You should have an action plan for yourself and your family.
The main thing is, can you be self-sufficient?
Do you have enough food, water and medicine to last up to three days if you’re trapped at home?
Just a sinkhole on your street or driveway can leave you stranded.”

The McClure family of Castle Rock said they avoided Manitou Springs last year because of flooding concerns.

“We’re bikers,” Emily McClure said.
“Floods can carry a car away.
On a bike, we don’t stand much of a chance.
We don’t want to get caught.
But we’ll go back this summer and see if things are better.”

Many attendees admitted they are not prepared for a disaster and appreciated the information being conveniently available.

“If half the people who went to the game stop by for information, I consider the event a success,” Vitwar said.