This week, I attended a wildfire-focused community event — a session of the 2025 “Living with Wildfire” Town Hall Series.

The event was presented by the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD), and representatives from the CSFD Wildfire Mitigation Team, Colorado Springs Police Department, El Paso-Teller County 9-1-1 Authority (Peak Alerts), Colorado Springs Utilities, and Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management were in attendance. Short presentations were given by each entity highlighting different things that community residents can do to prepare for wildfire now. Additionally, each organization had a table set up with flyers and opportunities to learn valuable information about fire risk, preparation, mitigation, and response.
 
CSFD has offered town halls tailored to different parts of the city for quite some time, but I found it really interesting that they have begun holding sessions focused on the neighborhoods adjacent to the eastern side of the town — the prairieland. Have you heard the term “wildland urban interface” or “WUI” before? CSFD shared the term “prairieland urban interface” or “PUI.” This is one I had not heard but, having studied and performed research on wildfire-prone areas impacted by grass fires, I fully support discussing and sharing the idea and risks of living in the PUI.

I’m pleased to report that, since I began this #FirePrepFriday journey with all of you, I have completed nearly every task recommend by the event’s speakers. Meaning, if you’ve prioritized fire prep and worked through the tasks along with me, too, you’re also in a much better position before the next emergency. Way to go!
 
I highly recommend that you find and attend a similar type of event happening in your community. If there isn’t a town hall opportunity, then request an appointment with the local fire department to ask questions about how you can better prepare and mitigate based on where you live. And, who knows — you could end up being interviewed by the local news station after they notice you taking copious notes. Check out the article and video from KOAA News5 Colorado Springs.
 
Does your community hold wildfire-focused educational events? Tell me about them in the Comments.
 
Important Disclaimer: I am not a fire preparedness professional. I am merely sharing my research, opinions, and what I find that applies to my geographic and personal situations in hopes that it will help others. Please make sure that whatever steps and advice you follow are what is best for you

Over the last several weeks, we focused on how to react to a wildfire evacuation alert. But do you know what to do when you’re the one who first identifies an ignition that could potentially result in a wildfire?

As RS Fire Nerd, you probably assume I spend a lot of time thinking about wildfires and emergency situations. And you’re totally right. So, it should come as no surprise that I had fire on my brain while on a recent vacation. It started while driving past Cleveland, OH on the way to Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) and I saw a two-alarm industrial fire (later upgraded to a four-alarm fire).

Then, shortly after entering the CVNP boundary, I spotted flames where a tree branch had fallen onto a power line and was continuing to burn. The closest building, the Canal Exploration Center, was closed for the day. Who should I call?
 
I started with what seemed like the most appropriate contact number I could find for the park. However, when my call went to voicemail, I dialed 911. I shared the coordinates from Apple Maps with the dispatcher and waited until fire apparatus arrived. (Shout-out to the Valley View Fire Department for their very fast response!)

By the time the engine arrived, the branch had burned and smoldered to the point that it fell from the power line and onto the ground (fortunately to a part of the road that was paved and had little vegetation). I’ll admit to feeling a bit embarrassed by that point – did I waste the dispatchers’ and firefighters’ time and resources by reporting an incident that resolved itself? The weather was hot and windy and, although very humid, all I could think about was the many stories where a single spark led to a massive fire. I erred on the side of caution, followed my instincts, and am glad that I made the call.

The Pacific Crest Trail Association writes that “Calling 911 is appropriate. Call 911 in an emergency or if there is a significant fire that you suspect hasn’t been reported yet. In less severe situations, you can also call the local county sheriff. And call the local Forest Service or National Park Service office.”

Fortunately, CVNP doesn’t boast much history in terms of frequent or large wildfires. In fact, the most famous fire associated with the park was the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire, which burned because of industrial pollution in the water (as opposed to dry or overgrown vegetation fuel sources). The river had burned more than ten times over the century prior to the remembered event of 1969. If you would like to learn more, here are a couple articles to get you started:

• NPS: The 1969 Cuyahoga River Fire. Link: http://nps.gov/articles/story-of-the-fire.htm
• NPS: Carl B. Stokes and the 1969 River Fire. Link: https://www.nps.gov/articles/carl-stokes-and-the-river-fire.htm
• National Park Explorer (2025): The river that burned celebrates 50 years as Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Link: https://natlpark.com/2025/06/river-burned-cuyahoga-valley-national-park/

 
Have you ever been the one to spot a fire? What did you do? Who did you call? Let me know in the Comments.
 
By the way…
This week, many friends and family received tsunami watch and later the upgraded advisory alerts as a result of the magnitude 8.7 earthquake that struck off of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Tuesday, July 29th. I noticed a good deal of confusion on social media about the differences between watches, advisories, and warnings, so here is a helpful graphic from the National Weather Service.

Important Disclaimer: I am not a fire preparedness professional. I am merely sharing my research, opinions, and what I find that applies to my geographic and personal situations in hopes that it will help others. Please make sure that whatever steps and advice you follow are what is best for you.