Wildfire evacuation drill scheduled Saturday in Colorado Springs
At least 40 families in six southwest Colorado Springs neighborhoods will participate in a wildfire evacuation drill Saturday morning.
The drill starts at 9:30 a.m. and should be finished by 11 a.m.
The drill involves neighborhoods immediately west and south of the Broadmoor, including: Broadmoor Heights, Broadmoor Resort Community, Pine Terrace at the Broadmoor, North Cheyenne Creek, Overlook Colony and Mayhurst.
Bart Howard, deputy director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management, said around 200 first responders, some from as far away as Denver, will participate in the exercise.
“The state will have a multi-mission aircraft flying overhead, practicing the pickup of thermal images from a fire,” he said. “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that the public may not see.”
Howard said responders will start the drill by knocking on doors and sending simulated phone messages to alert registered families, and those families will travel to Harrison High School, which will serve as a shelter for people and their pets.
“We want people now, to stop when they’re calm, when there isn’t a danger, and think through that scenario,” he said. “Do you know where to go? Do you have important papers ready? Do you have a bag of necessities or supplies you can quickly take with you?”
Joan Conn, who lives in one of the neighborhoods targeted by the drill, said she can’t answer “yes” to many of those questions.
“No, you know, if the roads are closed, if certain parts of the hill are closed, I really don’t know which way I should go or shouldn’t go,” she said. “I think I’d get my kids and try to meet my husband who works in the middle of town. But I’d like to know more than that.”
Conn said she and her family have other plans and won’t take part in the exercise.
“But I hope they have another one soon,” she said. “We just moved here a year ago. We’d like to be better prepared. We mitigated our property when we arrived. My son is 13 and a ham radio operator, so communication won’t be an issue for us.”
Howard said of 1,400 homeowners notified about the drill, only 40 had signed up as of Friday evening.
“But we expect some will register late,” he said. “If it helps one family to at least talk about being prepared, it’s time well spent.”
Saturday’s drill will be the fifth sponsored by the city since the first exercise in 2012.
Officials said people should not be alarmed if they see large numbers of emergency vehicles in the Broadmoor area, and that families not participating in the event should disregard the activity and any related messages.
The timeliness of the exercise is noteworthy; the 2012 Waldo Canyon and 2013 Black Forest fires happened in the month of June.
For more information about how to prepare for a wildfire evacuation, visit: http://csready.org.
