EPG’s Mission

Do the work of Christ by preparing and educating a network of local citizens to help others in our community in times of disaster and other needs for assistance.

To be added to our EPG email list, which sends meeting dates and work information, write to  or see email signup button on our Facebook page.

To see our online photo album, see our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/TLUMCEPG

EPG’s Strategy

Preparedness Planning for Church & Members

Review TLUMC facility plans, CERT & First Aid training, family evacuation planning

Disaster Relief Work

Red Cross Shelter support, clean-ups, aid

Disaster Recovery Work

Mitigation (ex. burn scar re-forestation), home firewise pre-mitigation, food drives

Coordination with South Central Region VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster), UMC Mountain Sky Conference, local UMCs and Monument churches, Hope Restored, etc. 

Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church

Emergency Preparedness Group

Receives 2020 Wildfire Mitigation Award

The Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church (TLUMC) Emergency Preparedness Group (EPG) Volunteers received the national Wildfire Mitigation Award in a ceremony at TLUMC on February 22, 2020. The competitive award is co-sponsored by the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the USDA Forest Service (USFS) to honor and recognize individuals and organizations for innovation, dedication, and leadership in wildfire mitigation. The award was presented by Megan Fitzgerald-McGowan of the NFPA.

The EPG, led by André Mouton and Lisa Hatfield, was formed in response to the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire which members could see burning along the Front Range. The initial members attended a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class in November of 2012 as the first step in their training. The Black Forest Fire then raged just miles from TLUMC in 2013, so the EPG members attended additional training designed to help residents of Black Forest recover from the damage (black mitigation) or reduce the fire hazard on their property (green mitigation).

EPG's initial goals were to use various methods to reduce wildfire risk in the Northern El Paso County area and to help residents recover from the 2013 Black Forest Fire. They worked with residents needed to do "green" or "black" mitigation but were physically and/or financially unable to do it on their own. Those initial goals are still valid but the group’s focus has swung toward teaching residents and entire neighborhoods about creating defensible space and guiding them through planning and execution of neighborhood mitigation projects. The EPG provides chippers, hand tools, and personal protective equipment as required and conducts safety training for all volunteers.

Since the EPG’s inception in 2012, they have organized and/or conducted 48 mitigation workdays assisting over 30 individual homeowners and provided support to 3 neighborhood chipping days to help about 60 more homeowners. The work was done in 10 different neighborhoods in El Paso County, including Black Forest, Red Rock Ranch (which is now one of seven National Fire Protection Association Sites of Excellence), Woodmoor, Palmer Lake, Colorado Estates, Cascade, Ute Pass, Walden, Wissler Ranch, and southern Douglas County. The EPG has teamed with several other non-profits including Black Forest Together, Hope Restored Disaster Recovery Ministry, and Sunrise United Methodist Church/Colorado Rebuilds on various projects.

The EPG hosted 7 major wildfire risk reduction information events featuring local political leaders, fire and forestry professionals, and volunteer group leaders as speakers and panel discussion members. The group also supported over 20 events held by other agencies by staffing information tables on defensible space, home hardening, evacuation planning, and emergency preparedness. Several of the EPG members attended a train-the-trainer version of the National Volunteer Fire Council’s (NVFC) Wildland Fire Assessment Program (WFAP) and are certified to teach others how to perform those assessments on properties as a foundation for mitigation efforts. 

In addition to their wildfire mitigation efforts, the EPG supports general emergency preparedness in Northern El Paso County and elsewhere by hosting and providing instructors for two 20-hour Community Emergency Response Team training events each year in conjunction with the Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management and offers four American Heart Association Heartsaver® CPR/AED/First Aid classes a year at a reduced cost. The EPG has assisted with post-fire/flood clean up on six properties and with wildfire-associated flood clean-up efforts in Berthoud, CO and Longmont, CO.

A core group plans and organizes the activities and relies on a group of volunteers who step in to help with project execution. In order to make the greatest impact, the EPG has shifted its focus from performing single-site mitigation projects to promoting and supporting neighborhood mitigation projects. The EPG is currently promoting a county-wide effort in conjunction with the Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management to encourage homeowners and neighborhoods to start the mitigation process by removing ladder fuels - the small trees, shrubs, and low-hanging branches that allow a defensible ground fire to reach up into the larger trees and create a crown fire. Ladder fuel removal not only makes each mitigated home safer, but also improves ingress and egress for evacuation and first responders. The key to this effort is identifying potential Neighborhood Ambassadors and their neighborhoods that want to learn how to perform mitigation projects and connecting them to the state forest service and/or local fire district to learn about defensible space, “home-hardening” efforts, and project planning. The EPG will provide training as needed and participate in an initial cutting and/or chipping project to provide hands-on training.

The more people and groups that are trained, the safer the community will be. The goal is for them to make mitigation a routine effort performed multiple times each year.  Where available, we are connecting neighborhoods with local fire districts that own chippers (or have access to them through other organizations) and will help them continue the mitigation work as needed.  A side benefit of these projects has seen neighbors across the street from each other meet for the first time to help each other get work done. 

Award announcements can be seen at the following links - National Association of State Foresters Announcement and National Fire Protection Association Announcement.

For more information about the EPG or the ladder fuels mitigation program, contact the EPG at or go to the EPG Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TLUMCEPG to see "before & after" photos of our projects and our dirty, tired, happy volunteers.

2022 Wildfire Risk Reduction Training for Neighborhood Ambassadors

Do you want to learn how to to reduce wildland fire risk in your neighborhood? 

The Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church Emergency Preparedness Group (EPG) is a 2020 national award winner in the wildfire mitigation arena and has conducted numerous risk reduction projects. The EPG is once again presenting a free course to share that information with Neighborhood Ambassadors through training in how to inform and organize neighbors and implement projects in their own neighborhoods. This training program is being presented in association with the Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management and Colorado State Forest Service. Instruction adheres to guidelines from the National Firewise program. 

Schedule of Events

NOTE: All sessions will be conducted via virtual means (Zoom Calls) except for March 29, May 7, and Rolling Chipping Day Projects.  

• Saturday, February 26 (10:00-11:30am):Kick-off Meeting 
• Tuesday, March 1 (6:00-7:30pm): Module 1 – Getting Organized 
• Tuesday, March 8 (6:00-7:30pm): Module 2 – Wildfire Assessment Program, How to Protect Your Home’s “Ignition Zone”
• Tuesday, March 15 (6:00-7:30pm): Module 3 – Wildfire Assessment Program, Home Hardening Against Flying Embers
• Tuesday, March 22: NO SESSION, D38 SCHOOL SPRING BREAK
• Tuesday, March 29 (4:00-6:00pm): Module 4 – Wildfire Assessment Program, Home Assessment Exercise
• Tuesday, April 5 (6:00-7:30pm): Module 5 – Hazards and Connect with Fire/Forestry Professionals
• Tuesday, April 12 (6:00-7:30pm): Module 6 – Fire Risk Reduction Project Planning Techniques
• Tuesday, April 19 (6:00-7:30pm): Module 7 – Neighborhood Prep, Rolling Chipping Days
• Tuesday, April 26 (6:00-7:30pm): Module 8 – FireWise Vegetation
• Tuesday, May 3 (6:00-7:30pm): Module 9 – Wildfire Emergency Preparedness
• Saturday, May 7 (9:00am-12:00pm): Chipper Operations Leader Training (May have to be rescheduled if the 2022 National Wildfire Prevention Day activities are scheduled)
• Dates TBD on Saturdays between May-September: Neighborhood-led Rolling Chipping Day Projects with EPG Guidance
• Tuesday, October 4 (6:00-7:30pm): End of Season Review

Please e-mail  for more information or to sign-up for the program.

September 20th, 21st, and 22nd (Evenings Only)

September 24th (All Day)

The TLUMC Emergency Preparedness Group is hosting the Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) course provided by the Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management. Classes will be held on the evenings of September 20th, 21st, and 22nd and all day on September 24th. CERT training includes basic skills for helping your community - and yourself - be more resilient if a disastrous event overwhelms or delays professional responders so citizens can be better prepared to protect themselves and support others by applying the knowledge and skills that they learn during training. These skills can help save and sustain their lives following a disaster until help arrives. Registration is open now at http://cert92022.eventzilla.net.