With critical drought conditions and predicted high fire risk for summer months, Douglas County officials are making sure residents are prepared as possible.On Saturday, the county, in partnership with Colorado State University, hosted a drought and wildfire preparedness open house.Here's some of the information that was covered in this open house. Douglas County hosts drought, wildfire preparedness open houseWe want residents to come in here and talk to our water providers, talk to our wildfire mitigation specialists, talk to our first responders, talk to everybody here who has all of the detailed technical knowledge to help folks prepare better for wildfire, said Director of Douglas Countys Office of Emergency Management Mike Alexander.He added that although the recent snowstorm brought some relief in the short term, it cant make up for the long-term conditions. We're still in critical drought conditions and predicted high fire risk for June and July, he exclaimed. The entire county is at-risk from wildfire. It's just a matter of what particular hazards your particular area faces."Thats why residents like John Reffel and Madi Heiser decided to stop by the Douglas County Fairgrounds for the open house.I'm really happy that Douglas County is doing this, said Castle Rock resident Reffel. Living here and knowing about the impending drought and the lack of water that we got this year, the snowpack, you know, it's important to know more about what we can do to try to prevent it and keep things safe, he added.Reffel said that he is also a landscape fire mitigation contractor, which also drew him to the event to keep tabs on things and to stay up on all the right information."Heiser, another Castle Rock resident, joined by her young son, chimed in, saying the lack of snow leaves her wondering what the future holds. With the amount of snow we didn't have this year, it not only affected the ski season, but also... What could happen? she asked.Though Alexander emphasizes that the whole county is at-risk of wildfire, he does note that some areas are under a spotlight.Right now, the northern tier of Douglas County is in the most severe drought, so that's a place we're watching particularly closely," he explained.He emphasized the things people can do now to better prepare them for the future."Starting right at people's homes, are things like, how to harden your home, what kind of screens to put on your vents to reduce embers from getting in your house, what kind of vegetation to put... around your home and where and how to sign up for emergency alerts, and what is good water use look like and how to conserve," he said. Sign up for DougCoAlert so that you receive emergency notifications. Make an evacuation plan, build a 'go kit,' prepare yourselves and your family for an emergency notification of wildfire," he said.And this is a message residents do not take lightly.The more educated we are about fire safety and fire prevention, the better, Reffel said. ...read more read less