Durango command central for those fighting wildfires

Tuesday, June 28, 2005 | 11:03 a.m.

With its athletic fields covered with tents sheltering exhausted firefighters and the campus theater turned into command central for emergency personnel, Durango High School played a key role in the battle against the Goodsprings fire.

At the height of the fires, more than 500 firefighters and emergency personnel were using the campus at 5100 W. Dewey Drive, said Joe Colwell, spokesman of the fire management team that includes U.S. Forestry Service, the federal Bureau of Land Management as well as state and local agencies. Crews were rotated in 12-hour intervals in and out of the Durango campus, located north of West Russell Road and west of South Rainbow Boulevard.

Dave Broxterman, administrative manager for the Clark County School District's facilities division, said he met with representatives from the management team Monday and worked out an agreement for the district to be reimbursed for related expenses.

The district's expenses so far are about $6,000 but the final tally won't be known until Nevada Power sends its own bill, Broxterman said.

"We're not interested in making any money," Broxterman said. "We just want to make sure we recover the costs that came out of the general fund."

In addition to providing custodial and maintenance services to keep the school site open, district workers set up emergency phone lines, Broxterman said. Some initial concerns about the fate of the field turf were resolved when the management team agreed to rotate tent locations so that the grass could be watered, Broxterman said.

The firefighters and emergency workers have been polite guests, said Durango Vice Principal Dave Ziegler.

"We've had no problems whatsoever," Ziegler said. "They've been very respectful and we're glad to help out in any way we can."

Colwell said minimizing impact to the school site was a priority from the start.

"We've been told to take care of it," Colwell said. "They've (school officials and employees) been nice and helpful to us but they'll probably be glad when we're gone."

The makeshift tent city at the Durango campus is expected to be dismantled by Wednesday, officials said.