Wildland Fire Exercise Near Burlington

BURLINGTON, CO – The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention & Control (DFPC) will be hosting an incident management/response exercise at the South Republican State Wildlife Area (SWA) north of Burlington, CO from Monday, May 6, 2024, to Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Participating agencies will be exercising their ability to respond to a mock scenario revolving around a wildland fire in the SWA that threatens to impact historical sites and has the potential to cross over into the state of Kansas. DFPC and other state and local emergency responders will participate in the exercise, which will be conducted as realistically as possible to mimic DFPC and local participation in an expanding wildland fire incident. Residents can expect to see multiple emergency vehicles in the area of US Highway 385 and County Road 2 during the exercise. This exercise was designed to practice coordination between DFPC, local and other State agencies and to build incident management capacity for wildfire and all-hazard incidents throughout the region. An emphasis will be placed on incident management processes and procedures. “It’s important to conduct ongoing training and exercise with our state and local partners,” explained Phil Daniels, Deputy Chief of the Wildland Fire Management Section at DFPC. “These multi-agency exercises keep skills and abilities sharp and allow participants to work through processes and procedures in an environment that isn’t as stressful or has the consequences of real life.” In addition to DFPC, exercise participants include: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Boulder Fire-Rescue Black Forest Fire Rescue Four Mile Fire Department Security Fire Department Kansas Forest Service El Paso County Incident Management Team Colorado Springs Utilities Colorado Parks and Wildlife For additional information or media inquiries, please contact Tracy LeClair at (970) 841-9230.