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OCN > 2605 > Shiloh Pines Wildfire Preparedness Meeting, March 7 – Ready, set, go! for wildfires

Shiloh Pines Wildfire Preparedness Meeting, March 7 – Ready, set, go! for wildfires

Highlights*

  • Monument Fire District urges residents to prepare for wildfire with a ready-set-go mindset and practical steps, including obtaining a free Wildland Fire Action Guide, which outlines no-cost and low-cost strategies to harden structures and reduce fuel around homes to lower burn risk from embers and sparks.
  • Fire officials noted the hardest task is defending houses with heavy fuel and access challenges, emphasizing easier access and fuel reduction to improve firefighting chances.
  • Sign up for PeakAlerts.org for reverse-911 emergency notifications, and use Community Connect to securely share critical details with firefighters in route to a call.
  • For neighborhoods wanting fuel reduction, Monument Fire District invites inquiries about joining the existing 30+ HOAs in the slash-chipping program.
*AI-generated

 

By Lisa Hatfield

Shiloh Pines Firewise Chair Gayle Humm invited residents to hear from Monument Fire District (MFD) Community Risk Reduction Specialist Aaron Wood on March 7. Wood explained the importance of planning for wildfire emergencies and recommended:

  • Be “Ready, set, go!” for wildland fire when it comes here. Pick up your personal Wildland Fire Action Guide at the MFD Administrative Office, 19775 Mitchell Ave., Monument.
  • This brochure lists many no-cost and low-cost strategies for “hardening” structures so flying embers and sparks are less likely to burn them down.
  • Learn to create a defensible space around your home by reducing and rearranging the “fuels.”
  • Make an evacuation and a family meet-up plan as they describe.
  • Residents should contact their local fire district to ask for a wildfire site assessment.
  • Sign up for PeakAlerts.org to receive reverse-911 notifications about emergencies near your home, work, or school.
  • MFD residents and businesses can create a secure account at Community Connect that only firefighters can access, and only on their way to an emergency. People can warn and inform first responders about people with special needs, aggressive or anxious pets, gate or garage codes, hazardous materials, etc., which will make it easier for them to help you. See www.communityconnect.io/info/co-monument

Wood said the hardest job he has to do in a wildfire is flagging houses that firefighters cannot even try to defend. However, if residents make it easy for them to access the property and have reduced the fuel around the home, that can give firefighters a chance to defend it.

Interested in MFD’s slash chipping program?

Neighborhoods interested in fuels reduction should contact Wood to see if you can join the more than 30 HOAs already involved.

Lisa Hatfield can be reached at LisaHatfield@ocn.me.

 

Monument Fire District Community Risk Reduction Specialist Aaron Wood, right, with Lisa Fitzpatrick, volunteer wildfire ambassador for the community chipping program in Arrowwood I & II. Photo by Lisa Hatfield.

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