Red Flag warning, red flag warning, red flag warning, the ubiquitous warnings threaten to undermine the danger that lurks nearly every day in Ute Pass. With the warning, residents are advised to have their bags packed in case of an evacuation notice.

According to the American Red Cross, it’s the kids who are making a difference.

“Seventy percent of families develop an emergency plan because their kids came home with information,” said Darlene Avery, spiritual counselor for the Red Cross and pastor of Church in the Wildwood in Green Mountain Falls.  The church is a Red Cross shelter.

For the Red Cross, Pedro the penguin is the messenger

Dressed up as Pedro, Avery flapped around the fire station in Green Mountain Falls June 6 during the open house.  In a town continually in the red zone for fire danger, Avery and Red Cross volunteers Cora Davis and Robin Madera hoped Pedro would capture the attention of adults.

In partnership with FEMA and Xcel Energy, the Red Cross has published a cartoon-like workbook with Pedro, the hero, who learns about staying safe when the threat of fire reaches the evacuation point.   

“The workbook is designed to be done with the parents,” Avery said. “It helps them figure out emergency ways out of their house, with a safety plan.”

In addition, the child can advise the parents to set up a meeting place if the fire happens during the day, or other times when the family may not be together at home.

“They can decide on a central contact person who lives somewhere else so everybody can stay connected,” Avery said.

In a presentation at the Guffey Charter School, Avery and Davis uncovered some hard truths.

“We asked the kids if their family had an emergency plan; most of them don’t,” Avery said.

Many of the students ratted out their parents.

“What was astounding to us that a staggering number of families who disabled their smoke alarms,” Avery said. “Up here in the mountains we have a lot of homes that were not built up to the current code.”

Avery and Davis introduced Pedro to students in Pueblo and in 4-H camps.

With Pedro, kids learn coping skills when emergencies do happen.

“We teach them breathing techniques, so they don’t have to be so scared,” Avery said.

For homes with only one exit, Avery and her team encourage kids to have their families figure out a way to get out if ordered to evacuate.

For kids, preparing for a disaster holds some level of excitement.

“We invite kids to pack a ‘special item,’ whether it be a stuffed animal, a picture, something that has value, is comforting and has a personal story for them,” Avery said. “Having that special item is reassuring.”

In talking in schools, the Red Cross volunteers meet people who have lost their homes and who retain a lifelong desire to help others, providing shelter, if needed.

In addition to Avery, Davis and Madera, Kate Walters serves the Red Cross as the disaster action team duty officer who dispatches volunteers to the scene of the emergency.

Pedro is also the main character in the workbooks where he learns about potential disasters such as earthquakes and floods, which happened in Ute Pass after the Waldo Canyon Fire in the summer of 2012.