This Sunday, head to the Heritage Plaza in Mountain Village for the Fire and Ice: Community Wildfire Education Ice Cream Social from 4-7 p.m. The afternoon provides an opportunity for people of all ages to learn about wildfire mitigation and prevention, which is a genuine concern in the region. The event is free and open to the public. Residents of the surrounding area, second homeowners and visitors are welcome.
“I want to get this information to as many people as possible. … Wildfire risk is real and present for anybody who lives or owns property in the Village,” said Kathrine Warren, Mountain Village public information officer and organizer of the event.
Mountain Village collaborated with multiple organizations for the event, including the Telluride Fire Protection District, San Miguel Sheriff’s Office and Office of Emergency Management, and the Norwood Ranger District of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forest.
Stations will be set up around the plaza covering various topics regarding wildfires. Topics range from fire mitigation, which includes steps you can help to reduce the risk of a wildfire consuming and decimating one’s property, to prevention.
According to the National Parks Service, nearly 85 percent of wildfires are caused by humans.
John Bennett — chief of the Telluride Fire Protection District that encompasses, which Mountain Village, Telluride and the east end of the county — explained the potential for a wildfire in the area is not a far cry from reality.
“As we continue to build in the wildland-urban interface, we continue to increase that risk profile,” Bennett said.
For each resient, it is their personal responsibility to take mitigation action to protect their property. Bennett explained this way firefighters can focus on safety and access.
Warren explained what prompted the organized event was the Marshal Wildfire in December 2021. The fire burned more than 6,000 acres and destroyed thousands of properties in Boulder County.
In March, Bennett and Mountain Village Police Chief Chris Broady covered wildfire preparation and risk in the area during a regular Mountain Village Town Council meeting.
Education is key, and wildfire education and preparation have many different aspects, which will all be presented and taught Sunday afternoon, Bennett said.
“The goal of public education is to put us in a good or a more solid position to not only mitigate the issue prior to a fire, but when a fire happens to have a good direction for folks to evacuate and be notified,” he added.
CodeRED is the notification system widely used throughout the region, and anybody can sign up through the San Miguel County website (sanmiguelcountyco.gov) and download the app. The system sends out real-time SMS, voice and app notifications in the case of an emergency, like a wildfire.
The Sunday event will cover the importance of families creating an evacuation plan and what to do if they only have five minutes to leave their house.
“We continue to plan for the worst and hope for the best,” Bennett said.
Smokey Bear might make an appearance Sunday to help educate the children in attendance. Growing up in a mountain town herself, Warren remembers meeting Smokey Bear as a child and gaining an understanding of wildfire prevention.
“I learned from a very early age as a kid, if you see a cigarette that someone else has tossed and it’s still burning, step on it. Starting with kids, it gets these safe habits instilled in them earlier,” she said.
Strategically scheduled the Sunday before the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Warren hopes to reach and connect with as many people as possible. Attendees who visit all the stations will be eligible to enter a raffle with prizes from local businesses. For the kids, in addition to Smokey Bear, there will be a firetruck and police car for them to explore. Musician Andy Jones will provide entertainment, and there will be free ice cream for everybody.
“It’s the parents who will be going from booth to booth,” Warren said, “but we wanted to make it a bit more engaging for our families.”
