With critical drought conditions and predicted high fire risk for summer months, Douglas County officials are making sure residents are prepared as possible.

On Saturday, the county, in partnership with Colorado State University, hosted a drought and wildfire preparedness open house.

Here's some of the information that was covered in this open house.

We want residents to come in here and talk to our water providers, talk to our wildfire mitigation specialists, talk to our first responders, talk to everybody here who has all of the detailed technical knowledge to help folks prepare better for wildfire, said Director of Douglas Countys Office of Emergency Management Mike Alexander.

He added that although the recent snowstorm brought some relief in the short term, it cant make up for the long-term conditions.

We're still in critical drought conditions and predicted high fire risk for June and July, he exclaimed. The entire county is at-risk from wildfire. It's just a matter of what particular hazards your particular area faces."

Thats why residents like John Reffel and Madi Heiser decided to stop by the Douglas County Fairgrounds for the open house.

I'm really happy that Douglas County is doing this, said Castle Rock resident Reffel.

Living here and knowing about the impending drought and the lack of water that we got this year, the snowpack, you know, it's important to know more about what we can do to try to prevent it and keep things safe, he added.

Reffel said that he is also a landscape fire mitigation contractor, which also drew him to the event to keep tabs on things and to stay up on all the right information."

Heiser, another Castle Rock resident, joined by her young son, chimed in, saying the lack of snow leaves her wondering what the future holds.

With the amount of snow we didn't have this year, it not only affected the ski season, but also... What could happen? she asked.

Though Alexander emphasizes that the whole county is at-risk of wildfire, he does note that some areas are under a spotlight.

Right now, the northern tier of Douglas County is in the most severe drought, so that's a place we're watching particularly closely," he explained.

He emphasized the things people can do now to better prepare them for the future.

"Starting right at people's homes, are things like, how to harden your home, what kind of screens to put on your vents to reduce embers from getting in your house, what kind of vegetation to put... around your home and where and how to sign up for emergency alerts, and what is good water use look like and how to conserve," he said.

Sign up for DougCoAlert so that you receive emergency notifications. Make an evacuation plan, build a 'go kit,' prepare yourselves and your family for an emergency notification of wildfire," he said.

And this is a message residents do not take lightly.

The more educated we are about fire safety and fire prevention, the better, Reffel said.

LONE TREE, Colo. Lindsay Mallon, nursing director of perioperative services at HCA HealthONE Sky Ridge, was recently recognized with the DAISY Award for leader of the Year.

Watch our feature story on Lindsay by Denver7's Ethan Carlson in the video below.

Mallon oversees the departments that support the operating room, from pre-admission testing through recovery, and works with surgeons, their offices and nursing staff on surgical cases.

Healthcare is a huge team sport and, specifically in surgery, it operates very similarly to a sports team, and thats always been a good area for me to lead into, Mallon said.

Kristen Fiddes, chief nursing officer at HCA HealthONE Sky Ridge, said Mallons approach to leadership sets the tone for the entire department.

This department obviously loves working for her. They love coming to work for her every single day, Fiddes said. She listens, I think, is No. 1. Her nurses know they can come to her for anything, and shes going to listen to them, and shes going to do what she can to reduce any barriers to her work.

That quality matters in a job that can be stressful. Mallon said maintaining a calm presence is a priority.

I have had great mentors in the nursing world that have really taught me how to lead and think clearly and be calm and meet the staff where they are and learn how to coach them, Mallon said. What I tell the nurses is, 'We want you to come to work and be your best self, that you can be your best self outside of work.'

The state of Colorado has also taken steps to address nursing workforce needs, with recent legislation that invests more money into nursing schools and streamlines nurse training programs.

I think the difference between 2022 and now is we definitely are seeing more nurses graduate from nursing school and entering the profession, which is fantastic, Fiddes said.

The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by the members of the family of Patrick Barnes, who died of complications of an auto-immune disease.

Its kind of the Super Bowl of nursing, is what we call it, Mallon said. Im just really honored to receive it.

The recipient receives a sculpture called The Healers Touch, representing the bond between nurses and their patients. The sculpture is hand-carved by a Shona artist from Zimbabwe, and work at the DAISY Foundation supports communities in that country.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

LONE TREE, Colo. Long-time and newer residents of Lone Tree say the city's rapid growth comes with both benefits and drawbacks, as Mayor Marissa Harmon delivered her State of the City address Thursday touting the community's momentum.

David Gow moved to Lone Tree in 2021 after leaving Denver in search of something different.

"We sold our house in the city, and the city was changing quite a bit, and we wanted to get back to the suburbs," Gow said.

Brad Houston has called Lone Tree home since the '80s and says the appeal has always been clear.

"The houses aren't overpriced. You have some room in between your neighbors. You get a little bit of land," Houston said.

The city's growth is hard to miss. Gow remembers a very different Lone Tree.

"I used to drive my Jeep up on the bluffs and sit up there and watch the thunderstorms and drive down the dirt roads," Gow recalled.

For Houston, the growth has brought convenience.

"The growth makes the place more convenient to get to, so you don't have to drive as far. I've got everything right here that I want," Houston explained.

On Thursday, Harmon delivered her State of the City address, highlighting the community's progress and what lies ahead.

"We are powered for what's next, and I certainly feel that we have so many destinations around the city that are just taking shape, whether it's ground breakings or ribbon cuttings, we continue to build great momentum on some exciting things to come," Harmon detailed.

During the address, Harmon shared that the city's 2026 total revenue is more than $86 million well short of expenses at more than $138 million but the city says it is confident in its long-term vision.

"We are committed to being as business friendly as possible while creating different housing opportunities and making sure that we are also the safest city," Harmon said.

Harmon said the planning behind the growth extends well beyond 2026.

"The reason I'm mayor is truly to make a positive impact for the next generation. Lone Tree is truly a space where all ages and opportunities at every stage can come here and thrive," Harmon said.

Both Houston and Gow said they see positives in the city's direction, but also have some concerns.

"They could use a modest amount of growth. But, you know, some of the developments that seem to be coming are multiple condo units or apartment units," Gow said.

Houston also shared a concern.

"The sad part is it chases away a lot of the wildlife. We still get, you know, wildlife here in the area we've got bears, coyotes, deer, foxes," Houston said.

LOUVIERS, Colo. The village of Louviers, located less than five miles from downtown Sedalia, has regained its state water certification after years of elevated radium levels in its water supply.

The small community of 104 houses began facing water supply issues in 2020, when testing revealed radium levels above the legal limit.

WATCH: Denver7's Douglas County reporter Tyler Melito reports

"We got the notice from the state, because we were being tested. Hey, your radium level is 7.65 picocuries. We got to be under five," explained Treasurer of the Louviers Water and Sanitation Board Rebecca Connet.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says drinking high levels of radium for too long can increase the risk of cancer and that the problem cannot be fixed by boiling water. Residents were told they needed either a reverse osmosis system or to bring in water.

The cost of a long-term fix was significant.

"It was 5 million," Connet said. "The biggest concern in this town is we do have fixed incomes. We are trying our best to minimize the expenses to the homes here and to the people."

Over the last several years, with the help of grant funding from the county and state, the village drilled a new well, updated old infrastructure and started taking steps to be more proactive in the future.

"If we don't have water, we don't have homes," Connett, who lives in Louviers, said.

In late April, Louviers regained its state certification, getting radium levels back below the maximum allowable amount. Customers will see higher water bills going forward, including an added fee to help fund future needs.

"We put on, like, a $8 fee on everybody's water bill, just to say, hey, look, you know, this is just for the future we're planning," Connet said.

For residents like Marla Gifford, who has called the area home for 21 years, the investment is worth it.

"It's very, very important that we pull together on water and things like that. We don't really need Dominion's water now. We have our own water and new lines, and it was all because of a grant. So that's going to be that's going to be good for quite a while," Gifford said.

Gifford described what makes the community worth fighting for.

"We have people who come up here, and they'll sit and watch the sunset," she said. "Our little town is very, very important to us."

LARKSPUR, Colo. The Larkspur Fire Protection District is considering putting a tax increase on the November ballot, which fire officials say will help maintain their current level of service and equipment.

Fire Chief Timothy McCawley said the department needs more funding to keep serving the area with the best personnel and equipment.

WATCH: Denver7's Tyler Melito talks with Chief McCawley about the potential tax question

The district has been gathering public input on three potential options over the last few months.

The first option is to do nothing and not place a question on the November ballot.

"The problem with that is with the increase in inflation and increase in demand for service, we are actually struggling to be able to continue the level of service that we're providing today beyond next year," McCawley told Denver7's Tyler Melito.

The second option is a 5.97 mill levy tax increase. For a property valued at $500,000, monthly taxes would increase by about $17.91. However, this option limits the department's ability to spend immediately.

"That would give us the money we need for both operations, and then just start saving to accomplish capital goals in the future, which are all laid out in our strategic plan," McCawley said.

The third option is a 3.97 mill levy increase combined with a $4.5 million bond. This would increase monthly taxes for a $500,000 property by about $17.40.

"That would allow us to start accomplishing capital goals in January, and then it would also give us the operations money that we need in order to continue the high level of service that we use," McCawley added.

McCawley recognizes that increasing taxes can be a difficult proposition for residents.

"Nobody likes more taxes, and we completely understand that. We want to be supportive of our community," McCawley said. "Our goal in all of this is that we have the right staff with the right equipment responding to your emergency on your worst day to make things better."

Anthony Caterina has lived in Larkspur for almost 30 years.

"There's lots of need for community here, because we do have to fill in a lot for watching over our neighbors," Caterina said. "We have a lot of homes in this area, and we have very, very little influence by commercial sales in the area."

Caterina says the last few years have brought challenges for community members.

"Our property tax has gone up, we really couldn't do much about that. Our health care has gone up. We really couldn't do much about that," Caterina said.

Caterina said he did not know what to think at first about a tax increase.

"I was very open to trying to understand what those needs were, because I just assumed they were cared for," Caterina said.

He said he is looking at where his priorities lie for both him and his family.

"There's other things I can do to cut corners. I don't want to do it for the safety of my family or community," Caterina said.

Other residents in town said while they want the fire district to be the best it can be, they do not want to be the ones footing the bill with more taxes.

"While we understand that the taxes have continued to go up in a community like ours, without that commercial development, we do have to ask for a little bit more from our residential citizens, and we understand that that's a burden," Chief McCawley said.

You can learn more about the tax increase question, calculate what the increase would look like for you, and provide feedback here.