Colorado Springs Fire Department host townhall as questions arise following California wildfires

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - As families in Los Angeles County begin rebuilding their lives after last month's devastating string of wildfires, firefighters here are fielding an influx of new questions about our own response procedures.

On Thursday, the Colorado Springs Fire Department held a community town hall to try and address those questions.

Fire Chief Randy Royal says the reality is, wildfire season here has expanded to be year round, but in addition to mitigation, he highlighted new tools the department is using to keep you safe. 

"We're going to be putting out what's going to be called an advisory. It's going to just let our citizens know and our visitors know that we're having some kind of event that may raise the fire level risk," Chief Royal said.

He says his department has been meeting weekly with partners at the National Weather Service and the Federal Forrest Service to stay ahead of possible disasters, "It really ups the communication so that if we need to respond, all these agencies can come together. At the same time, we look at the weather conditions and we adjust our notices based on that."

At Thursday night's community town hall, residents also got a peek at an aerial drone that crews can use to scan high risk areas; allowing them to pick up on hot spots and see through smoke.

"If we pick up an infrared hotspot, then there the drone is able to give us the lat long and we can send the crew right that spot and we've had this happen already and put out a single tree that's burning before the winds pick it up and blow it through town," Chief Royal said.

A big concern though for residents: fire evacuation procedures.

The chief says while it sounds counterintuitive, the department does not name specific escape routes, "There's been discussion about, well, you know, identify the specific egress and we steer away from that because you don't know if that's the road that you're going to need to take going out, because the fire could be right there...The key thing is if fire starts up and you have either smoke or fire, your reaction is the best. Your initial reaction is the best way to get out and get out safely."

Chief Royal says right now, only 26% of El Paso and Teller County residents are signed up for Peak Alerts.

He emphasizes the importance of everyone signing up, so they can know what's going on before disaster strikes.

To sign up, click here.