Fremont County to host Wildland Fire Incident Management Response Exercise

FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention & Control (DFPC) is hosting a Wildland Fire Incident Management/ Response exercise near the Royal Gorge. 

The exercise started Monday afternoon and continues through Wednesday.

The exercise is happening behind the Gorge, on the burn scar of the July 2020 YMCA Fire that charred more than 300 acres, and near the June 2013 Royal Gorge Fire that burned over 3,200 acres and destroyed most of the Royal Gorge Park.

Park spokeswoman Peggy Gair said that the park isn't taking part in the exercise because it's not on park property, but she's glad to see firefighters training.

"We're actually pretty happy that they're out there doing their exercises," she said. "It was a really windy day when the 2013 fire happened, like it is today. A lot of the fire was on BLM land, some on private land, and then, of course, the Royal Gorge Park Land."

The park's iconic bridge was one of only four of the park's 52 structures to withstand the fire; the park reopened two years later at a cost of $30 million.

"The thing that we have changed is that we have 80,000 gallons of water stored, in a building over there, that could be used right away for firefighting," Gair explained. "We didn't have that back then."

According to the Cañon City Fire Protection District, “participants will be exercising their ability to respond to a mock scenario revolving around a wildland fire near the south side of the Royal Gorge Bridge.” 

The mock scenario will be conducted as “realistically as possible,” and DFPC and local emergency responders from southern Colorado also are participating in the exercise. 

"No flashing lights, fire trucks, smoke or flames," said Phillip Daniels, the DFPC's deputy chief of operations. "This is a command and general staff exercise. So, we're bringing all the managers together who would potentially be working or managing a larger fire. Overall, we have a 90% efficiency rate in doing that."

Fremont County officials are warning residents of multiple emergency vehicles that might be in the area of County Road 3A throughout the exercise. 

Officials said that the exercise was designed to practice coordination between DFPC and local agencies and to increase incident management should a wildfire or any other hazardous incident occur throughout the state. 

Daniels said that it's important for fire managers to stay up-to-date on the latest processes and procedures to ensure agencies keep their skills and abilities sharp in order to be cognizant of local needs. 

"We're utilizing a real-life scenario, in which all incidents start in a small, local jurisdiction," said Tony Simons, one of three DFPC incident commanders for the event. "Once it exceeds their capabilities, it goes to the sheriff. If it exceeds that capability, they ask the state to come in. When the fire's under control, we hand responsibility back to the local jurisdiction."

Participants in the management exercise will include: 

• DFPC
• Fremont County Emergency Management
• Fremont County Sheriff’s Office
• Security Fire Department
• Black Forest Fire Rescue
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 

Daniels said that the exercise is valuable for fire personnel who don't have experience fighting larger fires -- such as Rachel Dunn, of Black Forest.

"We just had a training exercise last week, down on the Highway 115 corridor in El Paso County," she said. "I'm just hoping to see how the state's doing it, so that we can take that knowledge back."

For more information about the event you can contact (970)-841-9230.