Following a summer flood of tourists, shoulder season in Jackson means the entire town slows down — restaurants close, hotel rooms sit empty — right before it all picks up again with the ski season.
That slower pace has typically been true for Jackson Hole Fire/EMS as well, but last month the department received a record 198 calls — about 60 more than the past decade’s average for October.
Total calls have trended upward over the past decade. But Interim Fire Chief Mike Moyer said he’s noticing another trend.
“We’re starting to see much of the community has a shorter shoulder season,” he said.
The department typically uses less call volume in the shoulder season to prioritize educational programs about fire prevention and safety for the community as well as implement additional staff training.
This year, some of those programs and trainings were interrupted or dropped completely.
“Call volume has an impact,” Moyer said. “We’re just having to adapt and adjust those things as we have busier offseasons, shoulder seasons.”
He attributes more calls to warmer weather lasting longer into the fall, extending the busy summer tourism season — Fire/EMS’s peak season for calls. The department received 276 in June, the most this year.
They’re doing more with the same amount of staff and funding. But plans are in the works that could change that.
The department will begin a strategic planning process next month that will evaluate revenue and staffing needs by looking at their current calls and projecting future population, visitation and development.
That, Moyer said, will help “plan for the next several years.” That process is slated to end next spring.
