Overview

The Durango Interagency Dispatch Center (CODRC) serves as the critical coordination hub for wildfire and emergency response across 4.5 million acres of Southwestern Colorado. Located in the Durango Tech Center, the dispatch center extends its coverage from the Utah state line in the west to the Continental Divide in the east, and from the New Mexico state line in the south to the Montrose Dispatch Center boundary in the north.

Interagency Partnership

The Durango Dispatch Center serves as the interagency focal point for resource mobilization across five federal agencies: the San Juan National Forest (U.S. Forest Service), Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Fire Prevention & Control, and Mesa Verde National Park. These agencies share the cost of dispatch services, creating a unified emergency response system across jurisdictional boundaries.

Operations & Capabilities

The center operates with a core team of six staff members, mostly former wildland firefighters, who work 10-hour shifts that can extend to 16 hours during emergencies. Dispatchers coordinate a comprehensive array of firefighting resources including aircraft, helicopters, fire engines, and bulldozers, while managing detailed logistics from tracking lightning strikes to arranging supplies for field crews.

Local Fire Resources

The Durango area hosts world-class fire management resources as part of the San Juan National Forest Fire Program, including the San Juan Interagency Hotshots (a 25-person Type 1 crew), the Durango Helitack Crew (a 15-person nationally deployable helicopter crew), and the Durango Airtanker Base—the highest elevation tanker base in the nation at 6,685 feet.