SEATING IS FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED. OVERFLOW WILL BE SEATED IN THE LOBBY.

PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ASPEN PUBLIC RADIO AND WILDFIRE COLLABORATIVE ROARING FORK VALLEY
LIMIT OF TWO RSVP PER PERSON

This event is underwritten by Fidel Duke.

ABOUT PROACTIVE & PREPARED: WILDFIRE IN THE ROARING FORK VALLEY

TACAW is pleased to partner with the Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley and Aspen Public Radio on an event designed to increase awareness and preparedness as wildfire season approaches.

Colorado is experiencing its warmest year in 131 years of record, and one of its driest. The Roaring Fork Valley sits at the epicenter, among the hardest-hit areas in the state for severe drought. With snowpack now peaked at historic lows, climate scientists are drawing comparisons to years that defined what catastrophic wildfire looks like in Colorado. This spring, wildfire risk across the our valley is as serious as it has ever been.

On May 6, TACAW is partnering with the Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley and Aspen Public Radio to bring our community together for a direct conversation about what these conditions mean for our valley, what local fire departments and researchers are doing about it, and what each of us can do to protect our homes and our neighbors. The evening begins with a community preparedness fair, followed by presentations and panels featuring climate scientists, local fire chiefs, and researchers whose work is focused specifically on this region.

If you’ve been wondering where things actually stand, this is the event to attend.

The evening is organized around three questions:

What are we facing this season?
What is being done about it?
What happens when fire comes?

Drawing on the Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley’s work in fire behavior modeling and fuels mitigation, Aspen Public Radio’s deep ties to this community, and ACES knowledge of historic environmental science, the program brings together the people best positioned to answer those questions — climate scientists, local fire chiefs, researchers, and emergency response leaders — in one room, for one conversation.

Additional Resources from Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley: WEBSITE

SCHEDULE

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM	Preparedness Fair in lobby
6:00 PM – 6:10 PM	Welcome, Thank You and Introductions
6:10 PM – 6:30 PM	The Outlook – A presentation focused on observed conditions from this winter, how they rank within the longer climate record, and what wildfires have looked like in Colorado for similar years. What is Resiliency? – Given our risk, how can we prepare for fire right now?	Speaker: Adam McCurdy, ACES Forest and Climate Director Speaker: Angie Davlyn, Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley, Executive Director
6:30 PM – 7:00 PM	New Technology: What are we doing in advance? – A panel focused on cutting-edge wildfire behavior modeling being deployed across the Roaring Fork Valley, what the data reveals about where risk is concentrated, and how that science is shaping mitigation priorities on the ground.	Speakers: Angie Davlyn, Executive Director, Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley; Greg LeBlanc, Snowmass Assistant Town Manager; Rob Goodwin, Carbondale Fire Chief Moderator: Michael Fanelli
	How are we responding? – A panel focused on emerging fire response technology, including autonomous drone systems Aspen Fire is exploring and how these tools are changing suppression capability and incident command in real time.	Speakers: Jake Anderson, Aspen Fire Chief; Scott Thompson, Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Fire Chief; Brandon Deter, Colorado River Fire Protection Wildland Fire Division Chief Moderator: Michael Fanelli
7:00 PM – 7:30 PM	Response: Communication & Action – As we proactively look for ways to mitigate disasters, how are local governments, human service providers, and our media ecosystem actively preparing for community resilience, relief, and disaster recovery? Learn more about where information will come from and how each of us will individually need to respond to a wildfire here in the Roaring Fork Valley.	Speakers: Chris Breitbach, Pitkin County Emergency Manager; Jill Pidcock, Executive Director of Arc of the Central Mountains, Co-Chair of the West Mountain Regional COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster); Jenny Cutright, Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Moderator: Sage Smiley

ABOUT WILDFIRE COLLABORATIVE ROARING FORK VALLEY

The Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley is the only nonprofit dedicated to reducing wildfire risk across the valley, leading a coordinated, cross-sector approach to building fire-resilient landscapes and communities. By bringing together fire districts, local governments, federal agencies, HOAs, and residents, the Collaborative identifies, prioritizes, and implements strategic cross-boundary mitigation projects that address wildfire risk at the scale it occurs. Its work spans landscape-scale fuel reduction, home-level mitigation and risk assessments, and advanced community wildfire modeling, all designed to reduce risk, improve forest health, and strengthen community preparedness. Supported by public funding, partner contributions, and philanthropy, the Collaborative is helping position the Roaring Fork Valley as a leader in proactive, science-driven wildfire resilience.

Learn more about Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley: WEBSITE / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK

ABOUT ASPEN PUBLIC RADIO

Aspen Public Radio is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with the mission to support, nourish, and enrich our community by providing informative, entertaining, and educational radio and digital programming in a reliable and professional manner. Founded in 1980 as Roaring Fork Public Radio Translator, broadcasting from Sy Coleman’s living room in 1981, Aspen Public Radio has now grown into one of the most relied upon news institutions in the Roaring Fork Valley. The station is located in the Red Brick Center for the Arts at 110 E. Hallam Street, Suite 134, Aspen, Colorado.

You can listen to Aspen Public Radio at 91.5FM and 88.9FM, along with other repeater signals depending on location throughout the Roaring Fork Valley, or by streaming the station at aspenpublicradio.org from anywhere in the world.

Learn more about Aspen Public Radio: WEBSITE / YOUTUBE / INSTAGRAM

DETAILS

• PREPAREDNESS FAIR 5:00 PM / EVENT 6:00 PM
• SEATED SHOW / ALL AGES
• Limit of 4 tickets per purchaser

Presented By: The Arts Campus At Willits