If a major catastrophe were to happen in the mid or upper Roaring Fork Valley, emergency workers say they’re now better prepared to handle it. Wildfires and other dire circumstances often require a state team of emergency experts. Now, law enforcement, paramedics, and fire departments in the Valley are rebooting their own disaster management effort.
Pete Bradshaw is one of the organizers. He’s Deputy Chief of Basalt and Rural Fire Protection district. “Our goal is to bridge the gap when a local agency has maxed out their management of an incident,” says Bradshaw. “So it could be a wildfire that a single agency thought they could manage, but then grew to a much larger incident.”
If the problem continues to get worse, a state or regional team of experts would take over. The team meets Tuesday to plan for the USA Pro Challenge.
