Living with the Threat of Wildfire
According to a draft of the 2020 Community Wildfire Protection Plan, a large majority of the Evergreen
area is at a high risk for what they are calling a “catastrophic wildfire”. With the recent Elephant Butte fire and all of the wildfires currently burning around the state, wildfire is definitely at the top of mind for most all of us right now. It was very clear from social media that so many of us Evergreen residents felt an abundance of gratitude toward Evergreen Fire and Rescue (EFR) as well as the other supporting agencies that were able to extinguish the Elephant Butte so quickly and ultimately save so many homes in the Evergreen community. The wildfire threat has also left many of us feeling powerless as well. EFR, however, has provided us with a list of things that we can do to help protect our own homes as well as contribute to making their jobs easier. They have expressed that the best way we can thank them for their efforts is by completing the following action items.
1. We can all sign up for Code Red. Code Red is an alert system that allows local emergency response teams to notify residents of emergencies in their area. To sign up for code red you can follow this link https://public.coderedweb.com/
2. We can sign up for Community Connect. Community Connect allows you to communicate critical information regarding your specific property to EFR. Those items might include things like whether or not you have pets in the home or if someone in the home may need assistance in getting out of the home in the case of an emergency. You can sign up for Community Connect by following this link https://www.communityconnect.
3. The third action item set forth by EFR is creating defensible space around our homes. This may involve the removal of trees and brush next to the home as well as removing many other combustible materials.