That integration is one of Lyle Laverty's biggest challenges. We have to work actively to avoid those kinds of situations. But Larimer County and its surrounding agencies have done a better job than most at cooperating, managers said. Bill Nelson of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office, pointing to a dispatch center in Fort Collins that works with area fire agencies. Regardless of jurisdiction, the agency with equipment closest to any given wildland fire responds.
Managers sort out the who's who later.
We depend on each other a great deal. The Colorado State Forest Service is a catalyst in that relationship, bringing local and federal entities together, said Colorado Forest Service fire supervisor Rich Homann. That's where the catalyst comes in. One such agreement is the Colorado Interagency Fire Cooperative Management Agreement, which links the state and federal forest services, Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The pact outlines how the agencies work together.