Clear Creek County C3 fest is on its way back to Idaho Springs this August 29 at the ballfields in Idaho Springs.

The county’s “Big Toys” will be on display for kids (and adults) to interact with and explore.

I’ll never forget my first job in Journalism. It started out at 6-News in Lawrence, Kansas after graduating from KU.

I instantly knew the path I wanted to take, in my time as a reporter, was to be on the “front-line” of breaking news covering anything with a flashing light.

The local fire chief at the time was incredibly accommodating of our every request for stories and video.

Truth be told, he allowed me and his crew to experience a “burn room” training exercise where the temperature inside eventually reached 1400 degrees. (I was well taken care of by the team inside with me)

I eventually asked the chief why he allowed us so much access.

The city had also recently approved a one-cent sales tax for fire and police.

The chief answered me by saying: “We get what (equipment) we want because we show them what we get.”

The openness and availability of the Clear Creek Fire Authority and first responders countywide reminds me of that quote.

In a time of extreme fire danger, I think it’s important that locals get to see what they’re paying for in taxes and mill levies on the front line of protecting our mountain county.

Nicholas Dale was a 56-year-old contracted firefighting helicopter pilot from Sooke, British Columbia. He was killed while supporting wildfire suppression operations in western Colorado, according to media reports.

According to incident reports, Dale was piloting a Kaman K-MAX firefighting helicopter at Silver Jack Reservoir, Gunnison County, assigned to the Gold Mountain Fire when the aircraft crashed into the reservoir shortly after 5 p.m. on July 12.

A solemn procession escorted Dale from Montrose to Denver International Airport, passing through Clear Creek County on its way.

Dale lost his life while protecting Colorado communities during the Gold Mountain Fire wildfire operations, according to national media reports.

Community members were invited along the I-70 route to join first responders to pay their respects.

Clear Creek County first responders showed up in force along the route near Georgetown with at least a dozen patrol units and first responders standing at attention.

Sheriff public information officer Jenn Fulton said the reason for the formidable turnout was simple: Respect.

“The entire Clear Creek County public safety community mourns the loss of Nicholas Dale. He gave his life to help fight a wildland fire in Colorado,” Fulton said. “The Sheriff’s Office — along with all Clear Creek police, fire, and EMS agencies — wanted to join the state and many others in honoring his service and his sacrifice.”

Dale's death occurred during an exceptionally deadly Colorado wildfire season. It was reported as the fourth wildfire-related firefighter fatality in Colorado this summer, following the deaths of three federal wildland firefighters during the Knowles Fire burnover incident in late June, according to national news outlets.

The investigation into the crash will be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Officials have stated that the investigation will examine the aircraft, flight operations, weather, maintenance records, and other factors before determining a probable cause.

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“What if”? and “Who’s on your team”?

They are two questions Clear Creek Fire Authority Chief Jeremy Jones and Evergreen Fire/Rescue Public Information Officer Einar Jensen want mountain residents to know the answers to during this wildfire season.

Most mountain residents of tenure understand the perils and preparations of fire season at altitude.

This year, according to the National Weather Service out of Boulder, the mountains are tinder-dry.

In conversations this week, Jones and Jensen discussed what mountain residents sometimes don’t think about in preparation for a wildfire.

"Play the what-if game and then see if you can come up with mitigating ways to manage the what-ifs,” Jones said.

Wildfires can spark in minutes, and evacuation orders can follow just as rapidly.

“What if you’re in Evergreen at the Walmart and suddenly can’t get home?” Jones asked.

“The reality of evacuation is: ’If a fire event were to happen and you couldn't make it back to your house, what does that look like for you?’".

Evergreen Fire/Rescue’s Jensen raised a synonymous point.

"We as humans overestimate good things happening to us and underestimate bad things happening to us,” Jensen said. "The Danger of ‘Plan A’ is that people don't think about Plan B, Plan C, Plan D. They just have Plan A, and if that goes crazy, some people freak out.”

Georgetown artist Keith Prossick made his way to the quarterfinals in the Johnny Depp-sponsored People’s Artist competition, besting 160,000 other contestants from around the world, before learning he was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

He's not viewing his result as a disappointment, however. It's a big win for him, and for other Georgetown artists.

"I have no regrets," Prossick said. "I think everything was awesome. It was what I needed it to be.

“By highlighting Georgetown as a vibrant artist community on a national stage, the competition has solidified the town’s reputation as a destination for fine art,” he said.

Prossick’s name may sound familiar to some Courant readers, as he is the artist who completed the restoration of the longtime mural in Idaho Springs, “Oh, My Gawd’ Road.”  It was featured in the Courant last August.

The wooden mural is painted as an amalgamation of the city of Idaho Springs with people, cars, trucks and wooden structures.

The original design was painted by a local artist, Wendall Pugh, in the early ‘90s, according to Director of the Historical Society of Idaho Springs Jan Boland.

However, years of weather, wind, and sun took a toll on the mural’s paint as it faded into the past.

At the time, the newly arrived Georgetown resident Prossick told the Courant he thought the mural restoration project was a good way to introduce himself to the community.

“I’ve always thought volunteering is the best way to get to know people and introduce yourself to the community,” Prossick said. 

This latest competition, he said, wasn’t about him and his art but more about how the local artist community could share in the national spotlight.

The journey was never about individual glory, Prossick said.

"I kind of made it like a ‘we’ instead of an ‘I,’" he said, noting how the entire town of Georgetown rallied behind his entry and initial success. 

The town, he said, was behind him, supporting him during the entire process, from locals daily promoting the contest to residents stopping by the gallery to check on the latest results; the competition became a point of pride for the mountain community.

"It was nice walking around and people asking how it’s going, or people pulling for you," Prossick remarked.

The future of competition entries such as the People’s Artist competition is up in the air right now, Prossick said, with the potential of additional entries in other national competitions next year.

At the same time, Prossick said he was somewhat relieved in not making the finals in this year’s competition; the effort, he said, was exhausting:

"The day after I kind of got knocked out of the competition, I was like, 'Oh my god, thank God.'"

"I think the point I want to emphasize is this was definitely not a loss, Prossick concluded. “I think it was a win all the way around."

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