The town of Dolores is at risk for wildfires and floods, and the town board is working on an emergency plan ordinance to handle a disaster.
The Roatcap fire in 2012 came close to Dolores, and recent flood watches on the Dolores River illustrate the need to be proactive, said Paul Hollar, emergency planner for Montezuma County.
“The fact that Dolores sits in a canyon next to a river keeps me up at night,” Hollar said. “With a proper plan in place, you can get 87 percent of your costs back after a disaster, but it needs to be in place prior to the event.”
Trevor Denney, emergency manager for the Colorado Department of Public Safety, gave a presentation on the key details of emergency plans.
He was involved in managing the nearby West Fork fire and the flooding in Lyons in 2013.
“In a disaster, it does not take long to go through local resources and mutual aid capacity, then it’s time to reach out for outside help until the situation stabilizes,” Denney said.
Small towns need to have a plan in place because their budgets cannot handle the inevitable extra costs of mitigating the aftermath of a disaster.
Getting reimbursed from state and federal disaster funds depends on the foresight of established emergency policies.
For example, the plan needs to allow the town government to suspend certain ordinances in order to react quickly.
Suspending bid requirements and budget approvals frees up money to be spent quickly on essential disaster services.
Suspending advanced notice of town meetings and change of location will avoid complications in the midst of a crisis.
“During the evacuation from a wildfire, Southfork couldn’t have a meeting out of town, and it created more work,” Denney said. “Certain policies can handcuff you in a disaster.”
Other aspects may be that road blocks be established, or that curfews be initiated, and that town services will be delayed.
The plan should establish a location for an operations center and designate a public information officer to get critical information out.
Also important is to prioritize what structures are important to the community so an outside commander is aware.
Another tip was to arrange contracts in advance for disaster services, such as portable pottie rentals, or heavy equipment.
Breakdown in water supply, like what happened in Mancos, is the most common community disaster nationwide, he said.
“The biggest challenge was informing the citizens about the current situation,” Hollar said.