LONE TREE, Colo. — The threat of wildfires is on the minds of many this summer as Colorado faces dangerously dry conditions and fires burn across the state.
In Lone Tree, as is the case in other Colorado communities, officials are getting ready, working on how they plan to respond to a wildfire and how they want the community to be prepared.
"We want the public to know that there is a big risk out there, and that's where preparedness comes in," said Lone Tree Police Commander Joe Deland.
For Lone Tree residents like Lindsey Brown, her family's home is right up against the Bluffs in Lone Tree, something that comes with positives and negatives.
"While we love backing up to our open space, it can be a very nerve-wrenching thing to have if there was a wildfire, and especially on those windy, dry days, the fires can spread really fast," Brown told Denver7's Douglas County Reporter Tyler Melito.
Brown shared that because of the increased fire risk, she and her family are trying to stay as prepared as possible.
"My parents always taught us to be prepared, and so we are," Brown said.
And that preparedness, as Brown describes, takes a number of different forms.
"We try our best to, cut down any dead trees, take out weeds," Brown described." We're trying to keep space around our house clear. We've been using lava rock or rock instead of grass or mulch when possible, and just trying to space out our trees so that if there was a fire close by, hopefully that would be far enough away from our home. We also have metal fencing, which I think is helpful. So instead of wood fencing, that kind of helps prevent you know a fire from spreading fence to fence."
Brown also shared with Melito how they are thinking about what needs to happen, god forbid they need to evacuate.
"We have the ladders in our children's rooms, so they can leave their their rooms if needed in an emergency," Brown detailed. "We have a list of items that we can pack up if if we did need to evacuate really quickly."
It's is that level of preparedness Deland says they want every Lone Tree resident to have.
"We don't want people completely anxious about the emergency, but have a plan in case it were to happen. They have to know where they're going to get their information. They have to know how the city of Lone Tree is going to communicate with them in those instances," Deland said.
Deland told Melito Lone Tree PD has been working closely with partners across Douglas County and South Metro Fire, in addition to residents.
They've also adopted the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code.
"The city, as I'm sure every resident would want their government to do, is prepared for this, and we've made sure that their tax dollars are hard at work with our preparedness," Deland shared. "There actually is a map that residents can pull up. It's through the City of Lone Tree's website that links to the Colorado website, where they can actually see the fire danger in and around their neighborhood."
Deland recognizes with how much Lone Tree has grown over the years, it poses unique challenges. But he says it's nothing they aren't prepared for.
"We have a dense population, as we saw unfortunately with the fire up up north, a dense population fire can spread rapidly," Deland said. "So every resident has the ability and the understanding through this to see what they need to do at their own residence to mitigate fire danger on their property. We are very fortunate here in Lone Tree to have beautiful spaces that are connected throughout the city. But part of that is understanding that when we're in a drought like this, there are risks that come with that."
While Deland spoke with Melito, he even took time to talk with residents about wildfire preparedness.
It's this commitment to the community Brown says goes a long way.
"The city of Lone Tree, I think, has done some really great steps to help prevent fires and to help keep their residents safe," Brown shared. "We've seen training exercises in the bluffs multiple times with fire crews and police officers. We've seen park rangers walking through our trails, so we know that they are doing their efforts to help keep us safe."
