EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — Fire crews from the Colorado Springs Utilities Wildland Fire Team joined the Colorado Springs Fire Department and other agencies Thursday for a major training exercise near Manitou Reservoir.
The drill had two key goals: giving crews hands-on practice protecting one of the city's drinking water sources from wildfire, and fine-tuning how different agencies work together when every second counts.
About a dozen fire agencies participated in planning the exercise.
Fire Program Manager Steve Reyes said this kind of cross-agency training is invaluable preparation for future emergencies.
"Right now, having the ability to train with our federal partners to pass off some of that knowledge, to work together, is just critical, and I think it will absolutely pay dividends when we do have to work together onto the next big fire," said Reyes.
Reyes said the community response to the exercise was impressive.
"There's been about a dozen fire agencies participating in helping out to plan this. So, just a really great turnout today and a really great show of local support," said Reyes.
Reyes also said this kind of training is crucial while fire danger is still low.
"We want to make sure that we're able to cooperate, work together, make sure our communications work, and know exactly what we're going to do when we do have fire on our watershed, and that includes adjusting tactics because we are on a watershed, so making sure that we're not putting foam in our drinking water," said Reyes.
The exercise wasn't just about fighting fires. Crews also practiced a simulated medical emergency and helicopter evacuation.
The high-elevation training near Pikes Peak Highway gave firefighters valuable experience in the kind of rugged terrain where they could face real wildfires in the future.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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