Our History
6/23/12, Colorado Springs had a historic fire incident that was mere hours in the making, quickly spreading out of control. The public safety services were well prepared, and the city's response to the Waldo Canyon Fire incident was by the book. We received incredible support from surrounding areas, and within 2 days, had a federal Type 1 Team on the ground working on containing the fire.
6/26/12, the weather forces contrived to create a disaster. Lives were lost, homes destroyed, lives impacted. 32,000 people evacuated. The response escalated to match the threat. Thanks to public safety officials and volunteers, a critical fire line held and avoided catastrophe.
Today the response continues and will for weeks to come, but our attention must now shift to recovery and restoration, which will take months and years. There is no play book for recovery on this scale.
Other communities have dealt with large scale disasters. A common thread in their recovery process has been a single, broad-based organization including the citizens who were impacted… A Type 1 Recovery Team!
Within 24 hours of the fire completing its destruction, Mayor Steve Bach initiated the formation of the Colorado Springs Type 1 Recovery Team which quickly evolved in to the formation of Colorado Springs Together. Our team is a collaboration of government, private-sector and, most importantly, representatives of the affected citizens. Colorado Springs Together will lead the full restoration of our community.