New Pikes Peak Mutual Aid “Strike Team” helps cut down wildfire response times

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - In the event of a wildfire in El Paso County, 25 different fire departments would have had to coordinate on how to get to the location and begin dousing the blaze—now the Pikes Peak Fire Council says they've created a "Strike Team" of five designated trucks to fight those fires at a moments notice.

If a local agency arrives on a scene of a wildfire and determines it's too much to handle, they can page the Strike Team, who will be on their way to one of four regional locations (North, South, East, or West within El Paso County) in 90 seconds, and will work to respond together.

The Council estimates it could cut response times to wildfires burning in rural El Paso County by up to 40 minutes.

With the cooperation of all 25 departments in the County, the Pikes Peak Fire Council put together a team of five, Type 6 wildfire trucks, which are sourced from various departments around the County, to now be on call for wildfire situations–and it comes at no extra cost to their budgets.

One fire chief called it a "historic moment," as they look to minimize the amount of loss that comes from wildfires, as much as possible.

"Oftentimes we're already behind the power curve when a wildfire starts.  So when homes are threatened, or homes are being burned, and our communities are being evacuated, we need to be much more proactive in getting resources to that incident to both save lives and property," said Andy Kovacs, the Fire Chief of Monument Fire Department.

Smaller communities such as Hanover, Security, and Stratmoor are grateful for the support from the Strike Team and their resources to help in what can become an overwhelming fire for what are more volunteer-based departments.

Now, the Strike Team is currently active and ready to serve El Paso County.