After a wet spring and variable monsoon season, wildfire season is again upon us in Colorado. As many of you are aware, our public water systems and local communities face a diverse and significant array of challenges when planning, responding, and recovering from wildfires. The best time to start planning for wildfires is right now, in advance of fires.
The Water Quality Control Division (WQCD), along with many state, federal, and local partners, have released a revised and updated version of our Wildfire Planning and Recovery Playbook, available on our Source Water Assessment and Protection website. Several authors also hosted a webinar on July 25th, with the slide presentation and a recording available.
Pre-fire planning, response, and recovery is a team effort, and requires coordination across multiple jurisdictions, and administrative and physical boundaries. Each community wildfire event may present a unique set of circumstances that must be understood and conveyed to effectively navigate wildfire incidents. The centerpiece of the playbook is the comprehensive critical contacts list, outlining necessary points of contact along with each representative’s roles and responsibilities within the planning, response, and recovery process. Below is an example of the critical contacts list contained in the playbook.
The playbook also provides various actionable steps through each phase of the fire cycle, from planning through recovery. Examples include identifying your values at risk, forming a recovery group and identifying partners, understanding prefire actions and resources, and roles and responsibilities of partners throughout the different phases of a wildfire incident. The playbook also includes 2 full pages of links to additional resources, including a list of funding programs and technical assistance partners.
➽ Robert Murphy, CPSS, Source Water Protection Program Coordinator
➽ Kristen Hughes, Source Water Protection Specialist
➽ John Duggan, Source Water & Emerging Contaminants Unit Manager
