Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wildfire Outreach topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents press Douglas County for clearer wildfire outreach during HMP review
Summary
Residents at a Douglas County plan review asked why practical guidance on defensible space and targeted outreach have not been broadly distributed; county presenters and South Metro Fire staff pointed attendees to online resources and invited individual follow‑up.
During the public presentation of the Douglas County Hazard Mitigation Plan, multiple residents urged the county and fire agencies to provide clearer, easier‑to‑find guidance for homeowners on wildfire mitigation and defensible space.
Pam (identified by the host) said she has followed county and federal sites but has not received county emails or public service announcements with concrete homeowner steps. “Why isn't something being sent out this week?” Pam asked, adding that neighborhood mailings or targeted emails would reach homeowners who may not navigate long online documents.
Jessica Stokes (Tetra Tech) acknowledged the concern and offered to record the request and pass it to the county for possible inclusion in the jurisdictional annexes or outreach materials. “If you want to send me where you live…and the issues that you're experiencing, I'm happy to pass that along to the county,” Stokes said, and she encouraged residents to use the feedback survey or contact her by email.
Dan Stutz of South Metro Fire said he had posted a community risk‑reduction webpage with wildfire‑specific resources in the meeting chat and noted the district conducts outreach such as Firewise programs. He encouraged residents to contact the district for targeted guidance.
A resident who identified himself as Russell (of West Creek) raised a site‑specific concern about repeated fires near the Turkey Track Shooting Range and asked whether the plan includes mitigation for that area. Stokes said mitigation actions and site‑specific projects are listed in volume 2 jurisdictional annexes and encouraged Russell to flag the area in the survey or email the consultant for assistance locating the relevant action.
Neither the consultant nor the fire district announced immediate county‑wide mailings during the meeting. Stokes said the team can integrate requested outreach items as actions in relevant jurisdiction annexes and pass resident concerns to county staff and fire districts for follow up. Residents were urged to submit concrete locations and requests through the survey or direct email so planners can consider adding targeted communication or projects.
