Westside Watch

03/20/2026

🚨24 Fire has grown to 1,067 acres - evacuation alerts issued🚨
This fire is on the east side of 115 at the southern end of Fort Carson.

🚨 Westside Watch – Fire Preparedness & Community Update 🚨
📢 Please Share
👉 The more people we reach organically, the less we have to spend on paid outreach—and the more resources we can put directly into protecting our communities.

We get many emails with questions from citizens about evacuation planning. Our fire leadership has made one thing clear:
👉 When it comes to wildfire readiness… it’s on us.

🔥 Tools We Recommend (and use ourselves) with screenshots below:
📱 Watch Duty https://www.watchduty.org/
Available as a mobile app AND desktop website
Real-time wildfire updates, evacuation zones, and incident tracking
✅ You can sign up for alerts based on your location

🌐 InciWeb https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/
Official fire information from federal and state agencies
Best for confirmed updates, containment, and closures

👉 Use both for the best combination of speed + official information

📊 Evacuation Modeling – We’re Back At It
Hundreds of residents have already signed up for our evacuation time and mapping reports—and we are working again to deliver them.
🔗 Sign up here for evacuation times and maps: https://forms.gle/ZsMQCFKGvrGCSrgn9

We had hoped the City would provide this information directly to residents after purchasing the Ladris evacuation modeling software—a system we know very well and even provided input on.

Instead:
⚠️ The City continues to withhold access to the citizen portal
⚠️ They have refused to publish maps identifying safe areas
⚠️ Critical, life-saving information remains out of reach for the public

So—we are not waiting.
👉 We’re back to doing the work ourselves.

🎤 On the City’s Recent Press Conference
We also saw the City promote the national “Ready, Set, Go” program.

Let’s be clear:
⚠️ It's a national program started in 2004 - nothing new.
⚠️ Colorado Springs has been using it for over a decade.
⚠️ It does not address real evacuation constraints on the Westside

What our community needs is real data:
⚠️Evacuation times
⚠️Maps with safe areas identified
⚠️Impact of development on those times
⚠️That’s what we are focused on delivering.

🏔️ What Westside Watch Is Doing
👉 Neighbors helping neighbors. Supporting approximately 80,000 homes in El Paso County.

Recently, we helped residents outside Aspen stop a 5,000-acre development that would have trapped citizens and destroyed an elk wildlife corridor.

Currently, we are assisting Tri-Lakes residents regarding the Buc-ee’s proposal, where preliminary models show evacuation times increasing from an already dangerous 5+ hours to over 8 hours at a critical choke point. It's likely legal action will be needed. Please help our neighbors facing this dangerous development that is anticipated to add 27k cars/weekday and 40k cars/weekend at a critical chokepoint.

⚖️ Active Legal Efforts for Wildfire Safety
Arrowswest (near Garden of the Gods Park)
Ovation (near Pine Creek)

These cases are about protecting lives—not politics.

🤝 Neighborhood Legal Defense Fund. Our Neighborhood Defense Fund ensures:
👉 Anyone who calls for help can get it
Funded by citizens across Colorado
Built to respond when communities are at risk

💬 Please consider donating so we can continue to help others—and be there when you need it. http://spot.fund/rnqn7sc
❤️ Thank You

🧭 Stay Informed on Local Decisions
We also recommend tracking how decisions get made:
🔗 Sign up for CouncilWatch & the “Screw-o-Meter”: https://forms.gle/tDdCDNipEuW177bw9

👉 Transparency matters—and informed citizens make better decisions.

Thank you for staying engaged, informed, and willing to stand up for your community.

That’s what makes a great neighbor.

03/13/2026

🚨 This is all media spin — and it’s shameful. Mayor Yemi is trying to claim an achievement for a campaign talking point. This program is nothing new.

Colorado Springs has used the “Ready, Set, Go” wildfire protocol for years. When a major wildfire hits, everyone has to evacuate at once. The only thing that matters is egress — whether people can actually get out in time. 🚗🔥

The City originally bought Zonehaven to try to stop us, but instead of using it to help citizens understand evacuation realities, it was used to block the use of FREE emergency evacuation modeling tools that could show residents and businesses their actual evacuation times and where safe areas are if roads become blocked.

People need to understand what these fires look like. During extreme wildfire events:
🌪️ The sky turns pitch black
🔥 Billions of embers can fly through the air at 100 mph
⚡ Fires can advance 80 football fields per minute

Tires pop. Engines stall from smoke. Roads clog. Seconds matter.

And here’s another reality people don’t talk about: the first thing that often goes down in these fires is communications. 📵 Cell towers fail, power goes out, and alerts stop working. That’s exactly why evacuation maps showing safe areas must be published in advance, so people know where to go before disaster strikes.

After development approvals were secured, the City canceled Zonehaven and later purchased Ladris evacuation software. We evaluated it closely, even working with their CEO and making recommendations to improve the modeling — including using evacuation curves included in the free FLEET software used by Army Corps, Nuclear Regulatory Council, MIT and many cities across the nation. Using evacuation curves are essential because evacuation behavior is very different from normal traffic.

But here’s the real issue:

❗ Citizens should be able to see their evacuation times.
❗ The City should be publishing evacuation maps showing safe areas.

To be an effective tool, the City also needs to allow citizen portals so residents can access the evacuation software and know their evacuation times and risks. Without public access, it becomes just another internal tool instead of something that actually helps save lives.

Instead, we’re getting political spin while critical safety data is kept from the public.

Let’s also talk about the “awards” being promoted:
🏆 One appears to be essentially pay-to-play.
📢 The other isn’t something wildfire professionals take seriously — it’s mostly marketing.

And the drones being highlighted? They’re basically Walmart-quality drones that cannot fly in high winds — typically not operating safely in winds greater than about 25–30 mph. And aerial firefighting planes are also limited; they often cannot safely operate once winds exceed roughly 35–40 mph. 🌬️🚁✈️

Those high winds are exactly when the most dangerous fires occur, because wind is what drives rapid fire spread.

This is not a game.

🚨 Lives depend on honest evacuation planning. To paraphrase Mr. Royal when we were trying to get the City to mandate evacuation modeling and the impact development has on those times, people don't want to know their times as they are bad.

The City should stop hiding the data, release evacuation modeling to the public, allow citizen access to the software, publish real evacuation maps with safe areas, and ensure infrastructure exists before approving more dangerous development.

We don’t play games with people’s lives.

We have three lawsuits underway on this issue one in federal court, one at the Colorado Court of Appeals and one pending Writ of Certiorari approval with the Colorado Supreme Court. If our leadership refused to do the right thing, then the courts are our only option. As a note: 106a4 cases are very difficult to win because the courts do not like to overturn legislative bodies. Unfortunately, our legislative bodies are owned by developers. Pay attention to who is backing candidates in the local elections. It matters. Sign up for the CouncilWatch to see how your leaders are voting. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/2P8JJaohHrEcAfUG9

Donate to the neighborhood legal defense fund: http://spot.fund/5qlbpsc

By the way, El Paso County is potentially going to approve a development that will trap an entire town. We've run those numbers, and they are life-threatening today prior to 27k cars/weekend and 40k cars/weekend at a critical chokepoint. Westside Watch is about neighbors helping neighbors. Your donations will help in that effort as well. You can donate here or on our website. http://spot.fund/5qlbpsc

Thank you for being a great neighbor!

https://youtu.be/d_zBmCCQFB4?si=YY3bVxF6ESxpS-s9

04/07/2025

REMINDER: Speak up! Skyscraper Appeal 4/7/2025 1pm. Dangerous ADU Density 4/8/2025. Fisher Canyon 4/10/2025. -

A Wildland Urban Interface Coalition

04/04/2025

Speak up! Skyscraper Appeal 4/7/2025 1pm. Dangerous ADU Density 4/8/2025. Fisher Canyon 4/10/2025. -

A Wildland Urban Interface Coalition

04/04/2025

🚨 URGENT: MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! 🚨

TWO CRUCIAL HEARINGS are happening next week:

🟥 One VeLa Appeal Hearing
🗓 Monday, April 7, 2025
🕐 1:00 PM
📍 City Council Chambers, 107 N Nevada Ave
➡️ The fight continues against a 27-story mega-complex that will block mountain views, overwhelm traffic, and ignore community voices.
Show up! Send an email: https://www.integritymatterscos.org/one-vela-skyscraper-development

🟥 Dangerous ADU Density Hearing
🗓 Tuesday, April 8, 2025
🕐 Item 10 – Right after the Mayor’s business
📍 City Council Chambers, 107 N Nevada Ave
➡️ The Council is pushing changes to allow more Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) with virtually no oversight — bringing overcrowding, fire risk, and stress on infrastructure.

👉 SHOW UP. SPEAK UP. OR EMAIL IN.
If you can’t attend, send an email to City Council telling them to vote NO. https://www.westsidewatch.org/adus-dangerous-density

The City Council results look like the Developers win again. We don’t have a City Council — we have a Developer Council.

We are getting tools to hold them accountable -- over a year in the making, our friends at Integrity Matters been developing IntegrityWatch and the Screw-O-Meter — tools that give citizens the truth on how their elected officials are voting — in seconds.

🔍 COMING SOON — sign up for to be notified: https://forms.gle/yc8adGg732JYYfpR8
Beta testing rolling out soon.
No more hiding behind 12 hour meetings no one wants to attend. It’s time to hold this Developer Council accountable.

03/25/2025

🛑 URGENT: Speak Out Against Dangerous ADU Ordinance – Tuesday 3/25! Please share as this was a very last minute change.
📅 Update: March 24, 2025
🚨 Item 11A on the 3/25 City Council Agenda
📍This ordinance will allow 134,000 single-family homes to build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)—bypassing HOAs, PUDs, covenants, and without a full study of impacts.

💥 We’re calling it the Dangerous Density Ordinance.
➡️ Increases density across the city
➡️ Bypasses existing neighborhood protections
➡️ Worsens evacuation times, infrastructure stress, and safety
➡️ Minimal parking required, no short-term rental enforcement track record
➡️ “Wildland Resiliency” areas exempt—but who defines that?

🔊 What You Can Do RIGHT NOW:
📧 EMAIL: Send your name, phone number, and Item 11A to:
[email protected] CC: [email protected]
📞 CALL-IN to comment: Email [email protected] to comment on the ADU Ordinance, Item 11A.
+1 720-617-3426
Conference ID: 651 962 207 #, Press *6 to unmute.

🗣️ Public comment WAS going to be blocked, because it's a 2nd reading, but President Helms changed course.
We expect a stacked crowd of lobbyists, and “advocates” to show up and sway council to pass it.

💬 Only Councilmember Donelson is calling for a pause and proper study. Councilmember O'Malley also sounded skeptical. President Helms, Councilmember Leinweber and Councilmember Henjum expressed their belief that it is ready to be passed. Councilmember Risley was absent, but in the last hearing he wanted to put a Moratorium on the WUI and exert Home Rule which Westside Watch immediately called for. They are cleverly calling the WUI, the "Wildland Resiliency Area" which we thought was absurd -- it's the exact opposite. Learn more on our site: https://www.westsidewatch.org/adus-dangerous-density

📣 Help us demand HOME RULE and proper oversight before radically reshaping every neighborhood in Colorado Springs.

👥 Send an email. Call in. Show up.
Our neighborhoods are not experiments.

This post is paid for by ads from the Friends of Dave Donelson, www.davedonelson.org, and Committee to Elect Greg Thornton, www.greg4cos.com

03/25/2025

URGENT: Dangerous Density ADU Hearing Tues. 3/25/2025. LAST CHANCE. Send an email. Speak up! -

A Wildland Urban Interface Coalition

03/14/2025

Westside Watch Board Member John McLain sent this video of the GRIDLOCK from a small brush fire with NO EVACUATION ALERTS. We, and the evacuation experts, have argued for years that, during the Waldo Canyon Fire, where people narrowly escaped burning in their cars, the area was largely evacuated as it was Day 3 of the fire. Look at this, and imagine it's everyone home plus all the development that has been added. If they did the evacuation modeling, we would know the answer as to how long it takes to evacuate. We would know what the impact to the times of development have been and will be. We would know the chokepoints that need to be mitigated and/or manned, in advance of the chaos. As Dan Dallas, the type 1 IC who endorsed our Clearance Evacuation Time & Public Safety Ordinance the City ignored and rejected, "​

"Mass Evacuations in the Boulder area Marshall Fire were a problem. They got lucky on timing and everybody got out, but this is why advanced evacuation modeling to identify and correct egress problems as well as reporting clearance times and maps with safe spots identified, in advance, is a wise approach. People should know how long it is going to take them to get out and have maps in these chaotic fires that are all too prevalent. We have been incredibly lucky - and luck is a dangerous bet to keep playing."

​This video is from the intersection of Fillmore Rd and Mesa Rd heading west on Mesa Rd.

Here's the CET Ordinance we presented in 2021:
https://www.westsidewatch.org/the-cet-public-safety-ordinance

If you don't want 400 unit apartment complex at that location, donate to the lawsuit (we don't take a penny, but we cannot cover all the legal fees without donations, and this case will maintain the precedent we set in 2424). Tax donations to WW are deductible.
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=26LNK6SQMR5VY

Email Greg Cerbana, Government Affairs VP, and ask them to drop the lawsuit and make this area the Bighorn Sheep Research & Visitor Center as we suggested. It's a better use of the land and safer for the wildlife and neighborhoods.

03/13/2025

Westside Watch Board Member John McLain took these photos. He is also the Plaintiff in the lawsuit to stop the Arrowswest development at this same intersection and ended up on the Arrowswest property hillside.

We are also hearing I25 is gridlock. Imagine if this were a larger fire on higher winds. We must used the SCIENCE of evacuation modeling to gauge the impact of development and address the numerous chokepoints throughout the westside with times to clear an intersection for one car is12-16 minutes. It's unacceptable.

03/13/2025

We have been informed of the fire on the Arrowswest property behind Red Leg. In one of the many land use hearings we have stood with neighborhoods fighting, COS Fire Leadership argued, in a public hearing, that this area, in particular, is minimal risk due to the Waldo Canyon fire which, of course, is clearly not the case as we knew to be true at the time. This is also why we continue to demand for evacuation modeling, we could scrap the entire earth and cut down every trees, the structures are the problem fuels in dire fires -- all the matters then is evacuation egress. THIS IS WHY WE NEED EVACUATION MODELING. It's also why we filed the lawsuit to stop the Arrowswest development and suggested a better usage of a Bighorn Sheep Research & Visitors Center.

There is also a fire near the COS airport that is 3,000 acres already with mandatory evacuations.

Our thoughts are with all impacted, and, especially, our firefighters. We wish send them all the very best of thoughts.

03/11/2025

ATTENTION SPIRES, STAR RANCH, NEAL RANCH, BROADMOOR RESORT COMMUNITY AND BROADMOOR BLUFFS RESIDENTS: Pass it on so everyone is aware.

🚨 URGENT: Fisher Canyon Master Plan Hearing – March 13th! 🚨

The Fisher Canyon Master Plan will be heard at the Parks Board on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 7:30 AM. Fishers Canyon is the first item on the agenda after Call to Order and Staff Discussion, so the presentation is expected to begin around 8:00 AM, followed by public comment.

This is a critical moment to voice concerns about fire danger, safety risks, and environmental impacts. If you care about responsible development and protecting our community, now is your chance to speak up!

How to call into the meeting for citizens
a. Please dial: +1 (720) 617-3426
b. Conference ID: 117 587 487 #

How to comment during meetings for citizens
For agenda items, before the meeting, those who wish to comment should submit their name, telephone number, and the topic or agenda items for comment to:
[email protected]

📢 SIGN & SHARE the petition: https://www.change.org/p/stop-fire-and-safety-threat-of-fisher-s-canyon-project

💰 We have 7 lawsuits underway to protect your public safety and constitutional rights. While we work pro bono, there are hard costs we have to cover to spread the word, mobilize community members, and push for responsible planning. Every dollar counts! Give here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=26LNK6SQMR5VY

Thank you for being a great neighbor. Let’s stand together to protect our neighborhoods! 🏞️🔥

03/10/2025

🚨 ATTENTION WESTSIDE RESIDENTS: STOP THE DANGEROUS DENSITY ADU ORDINANCE 🚨

🔴 A critical vote is happening Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at City Council. This ordinance will increase dangerous density in wildfire-prone areas. We need your help to spread the word—our resources are limited! Share this.

🔥 KEY FACTS:
▪ Evacuation times are already non-survivable. Most of the westside faces 8.5+ hour "blue sky" evacuation times—and that's with conservative estimates.
▪ Other communities are in crisis. We recently assisted a community outside Aspen facing 17-hour evacuation times.
▪ Science, not politics, should dictate safety. We must identify and fix evacuation chokepoints before adding more density.
▪ Chief Royal has the authority to stop this. State law allows objections based on public safety. Email him today and demand action!

📢 HOW YOU CAN HELP:
✅ SEND AN EMAIL—Use our sample email or write your own. Copy us and the media for transparency.
✅ SHOW UP & SPEAK OUT—Attend in person or call in remotely to make a public comment.

📞 CALL-IN INSTRUCTIONS:
📩 Email your name, phone number, and topic to: [email protected]
📞 Call: +1 720-617-3426 (United States, Denver – Toll)
📌 Enter Conference ID: 651 962 207 #

🔗 MORE INFO & SAMPLE EMAILS: Westside Watch – ADU Ordinance: https://www.westsidewatch.org/adus-dangerous-density

📢 STAY INFORMED! Sign up for our newsletter: https://us5.campaign-archive.com/?u=c494c9847500a66132d508b5e&id=b392fa5d2a
💰 DONATE TO HELP US FIGHT BACK!

Multiple lawsuits are underway to protect public safety. While our work is pro bono, we need funds to cover essential legal costs. Every dollar helps! Give here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=26LNK6SQMR5VY

⚠ Public safety should come before reckless development. Take action NOW to stop this dangerous Density ADU ordinance!