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County schedules wildfire resilience fair May 14; officials say normal fire season expected locally
Summary
Lake County will host a Wildfire Resilience Fair May 14; Office of Emergency Management director reported the Arkansas Basin snowpack at 45% and said the county is at moderate fire danger, with statewide preparedness at level 1.
Lake County officials urged residents to prepare for wildfire season and promoted a free Wildfire Resilience Fair, while the county’s emergency manager gave a monthly update saying current conditions point to a near-normal statewide fire season but localized risks remain.
The Wildfire Resilience Fair will be Wednesday, May 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Southern Fire Station, county staff said. The free, family-friendly event will include booths with defensible-space assessments, summer chipping programs, pet-evacuation information, a kids’ zone and appearances by local, state and federal partners.
Claire Hathaway, director of the Office of Emergency Management, briefed commissioners on current and forecasted wildfire conditions. Hathaway said the Arkansas Basin snowpack was about 45 percent of average and that Colorado statewide snowpack was approximately 53 percent. She noted the Upper Arkansas was faring somewhat better and that the Leadville Ranger District had been moved to "moderate" fire danger by the U.S. Forest Service.
Hathaway said the national preparedness level is 1, meaning national resources are currently readily available; by contrast, the county experienced high resource strain at levels 4–5 during the previous summer. She described the outlook as follows: "April is gonna bring normal fire potential for Southeast Colorado. We're really watching Southwest Colorado, which has very low snowpack and increased significant fire potential for June down in the Southwest. The rest of Colorado, including us, will stay at normal potential."
Hathaway advised residents to download WatchDuty, a free app that posts near-real-time fire and prescribed-burn information gathered from interagency dispatch centers. She also reminded the public that last year’s red-flag events and nearby fires underscored the need for planning: the county will continue monthly briefings on wildfire conditions through the summer.
Commissioners and staff discussed coordination with federal partners, local burn restrictions, and community outreach. The county’s communications staff said organizations participating in the fair would meet on Thursday before the event to finalize logistics.
The emergency management director said the county is not recommending additional local fire restrictions at this time but will continue monitoring conditions and will coordinate with the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies.
