Fire officials gather in neighborhood near Waldo Canyon burn scar to discuss wildfire mitigation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Fire officials from national, state, and local levels gathered in the Cedar Heights neighborhood Wednesday to discuss the importance of fire mitigation.
The Cedar Heights neighborhood sits right behind the Waldo Canyon Fire burn scar. When the Waldo Canyon Fire burned two years ago, it got very close to the back of the Cedar Heights neighborhood but stopped due to the fire mitigation efforts of the residents there.
“Part of the reason we’re standing here is because, on the first day of the Waldo fire in June, the fight started here on Cedar Heights. It ended up being a success story,” Colorado Springs Fire Department Chief Randy Royal said.
The brush was cleared and cut down in the neighborhood and trees are well spaced-out so that if one does catch fire, it's less likely to spread to other trees.
The head of the U.S. Fire Administration was there, as well as representatives from FEMA, other national and local fire agencies, and Mayor John Suthers.
The main point was, as well as the Cedar Heights neighborhood is doing, there is still much work to be done in order to truly reduce the risk of serious devastation.
“Our current approaches to wildfire mitigation and management do not match the scale of the problem," U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell said.
The lives and safety of residents who live in these WUI areas are top of mind, as well as the safety of the firefighters who serve them.
