News

• It’s Wildfire Season, Are You Prepared?
• Ridgway Resilience Hub Stands at the Ready
• G is for Government Previews Telluride Town Council

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It’s Wildfire Season, Are You Prepared?

The days are getting warmer and drier. With that, the risk of wildfire increases.

“Wildfire season is underway and this is a topic we hear a lot about from residents about what they can do, and their fears, frankly,” said Susan Lilly, public information officer for the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office.

This summer, the Sheriff’s Office is launching an “Are You Prepared” campaign.

“The purpose of that is to arm our community with steps they can take in an emergency — in this case, wildfire season,” Lilly said.

Lilly noted they don’t want to cause undue fear.

“The last thing we want to do is create panic, worry, concern. This is just being a responsible person for yourself and your family. We have CO detectors in our home; we have smoke detectors. Those are steps to be prepared in that kind of emergencies. Why wouldn’t we extend that to keep ourselves safe in other kinds of emergencies?” she said.

She said there are a number of relatively simple ways to be prepared.

First, Lilly said, create a family evacuation plan. A town- or region-wide evacuation plan will be handled case by case and coordinated by first responders and emergency managers, but Lilly said families should still plan on a household level.

“It means making sure everyone in your family knows where to evacuate, the different places they can get out of their home, and there’s a meeting location for everyone to go to,” she said.

Individuals and families should also have a “go bag” — a bag that’s ready to grab and go in case of an evacuation.

“In your go bag, you should have clothing, shoes, food and water, and other items: extra prescription drugs, an extra key to your car, things like that,” Lilly said.

She also recommended having a list of items to grab on the way out — and knowing where they are.

“Such as special photos, or important documents — like birth certificates, wedding certificates — so you’re not running around, in an emergency, and trying to grab these photos. You have yourself a list and location of these items so you can quickly throw them in your go bag,” she said.

For those with animals, Lilly said it’s important to make a plan for them as well.

“A lot of times, shelters won’t accept your pets. So, you need to have some sort of plan — are you going to take them with you? Usually, we have a plan to take your livestock to the county fairgrounds if it’s safe to do so. So that’s going to be our first choice for livestock,” she said.

Other reminders include hardening your home and creating defensible space, so if there is a fire, your home is more likely to be protected. Lilly also reminded residents to alert responders — and have the right equipment — if they are conducting a controlled burn.

As recreators begin heading out on rivers and camping trips, Lilly shared a reminder from the U.S. Forest Service: nearly 85 percent of wildland fires in the United States are caused by humans.

“So don’t be that person,” she said.

While the Sheriff’s Office is asking individuals to do their part, Lilly said they are also working behind the scenes.

“We have collaborative efforts going on with the Sheriff’s Office, county officials, law enforcement, and our fire department to create and improve emergency plans that help guide our response to these major threats,” she said.

Full “Are You Prepared” guides and lists are available at sanmiguelcountyco.gov under the Emergency Management tab. Residents are also encouraged to sign up for county emergency alerts.

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Ridgway Resilience Hub Stands at the Ready

Imagine this — an extreme weather event takes out power in Ridgway for a long weekend. Without a generator, you’re forced to live by candlelight, and slowly watch your devices lose battery. Or, you can take a quick walk to the Ridgway Resilience Hub, which has been operating on island mode, supplying power for anyone who needs charging, lights and warmth.

That’s the idea, at least, behind the new Decker Community Room on the bottom floor of the newest affordable housing development in Ridgway.

“The aim was to create what we call, as what we commonly refer to as a resilience hub,” said Preston Neill, the town manager of Ridgway who helped shepherd the project. “If there’s a, God forbid, a natural disaster, an extreme weather event or even just a simple power outage through SMPA, our electric utility, the Decker Room will continue to be powered through this microgrid as it would be in island mode. It’s essentially a, its own separate electric grid, power grid, which handles all aspects of generation, distribution and consumption for a defined area — in this case it’s that community room.”

The project is a solar microgrid — a self-contained system that allows a space to operate off grid on a series of backup batteries that are charged through solar panels.

The project was a collaboration between the Town of Ridgway, San Miguel Power Association and Alternative Power Enterprises, a local solar contractor. Neill said the project came together thanks to generous funding.

“I like to think Ridgway would have attempted to complete the project even without generous funding through the Department of Local Affairs’ Microgrid for Resilience Program,” Neill said. “A lot of help there, and that grant was administered through SMPA. SMPA has been a huge help in serving in that role — of course, we could have administered it ourselves.”

Neill said the installation was quick — it only took a few days. Obtaining approvals from the various entities in the building and administering the grant was what took the most time.

“We still have a couple things to do to build up the resilience hub,” he said. “We’re in the process of purchasing phone charging stations — some other elements to really make it what we all think of as a resilience hub.”

While the microgrid is rooted in community resilience, Neill said they’re exploring how to use the system to reduce energy consumption during peak load times in the evening.

“Right now, the microgrid is set up so when the sun’s out, the room — the Decker Room — is powered by the microgrid,” he said. “It’s handling all the daily loads on a sunny day.”

While the system uses modern battery and solar technology, it’s shockingly simple — a closet is all it takes to house the batteries and engineering, with the solar panels on the roof of the building.

In 2022, San Miguel County installed a similar microgrid battery backup system at the Ilium and Norwood sheriff’s annex buildings. The $1.1 million grant from DOLA helps maintain essential services to the sheriff’s office during power outages.

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G is for Government Previews Telluride Town Council

Telluride Town Council is back in session Tuesday, with law enforcement and construction updates, as well as discussions on the benefits of local events on the docket.

In this installment of G is for Government, Councilmember Geneva Shaunette shares what to expect.

Story begins at 8:18.

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Eight Candidates, Six Ballot Measures on Mountain Village June Election Ballot

Eight candidates are running to fill three seats in Mountain Village’s upcoming Town Council election.

Current Councilmember Jack Gilbride is termed out, while Rick Gomez and Harvey Mogenson are seeking re-election. Challengers Alline Arguelles, Jonathan Greenspan, Bradford Hewitt, Michael Kirn, Heather Knox and Bryan Woody are also in the race.

KOTO will host election forums with the candidates in June.

In addition to selecting councilmembers, Mountain Village voters will decide on six ballot measures:

• One measure would clarify when ordinances go into effect.
• Another would eliminate the requirement to publish ordinances in a newspaper, allowing them to be published on the town’s website instead.
• One would clean up language regarding term lengths for Design Review Board members.
• Another would align Mountain Village’s procedures for revenue bonds with state law.
• A more contentious measure would change voter eligibility rules. Currently, non-resident property owners can vote if their home is owned in their name. The proposed change would extend that eligibility to non-residents whose homes are owned by an LLC or a trust.
• The final measure would implement a 5% tax on ski lift tickets to help fund the gondola. The tax would not apply to season pass holders.

The Mountain Village Town Council election is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24.

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San Miguel County Planning Commission Extends Comment Period on Mining Rules

Due to scheduling conflicts, the San Miguel County Planning Commission has extended its comment period for draft mining regulations to the Land Use Code. The commission now meets Thursday, June 26, in the Norwood Sheriff’s Annex to hear the proposed amendments.

The comment period, which is now open, is extended through 5 p.m. June 9.

The draft mining regulations are in their third version, with the planning commission seeking public comments from all, including West End residents, those in the mining industry, and any interested parties. The regulations are a comprehensive update to mining applications for exploration, remediation and active mining.

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Colorado Legalizes Popular Japanese Kei Trucks for Road Use

A new law will make it legal to drive a type of miniature vehicle from Japan, called a Kei truck, on Colorado roads.

Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill Friday, allowing Kei vehicles to operate in most of the state starting in summer 2027. They will be legal on roads with speed limits of up to 55 miles per hour.

Kei cars and trucks are increasingly popular in the United States because they are cheap, compact and simple to use. The new law had unanimous support in the state Legislature.

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Study Questions Impact of Selling Public Land for Housing

The Trump administration has suggested selling federal public lands to build housing.

But, as Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Caroline Llanes reports, a new study suggests that strategy wouldn’t fix the housing crisis — and could put people at risk of natural disasters.

Story beings at 16:25.