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Law enforcement officials have busted a handful of working methamphetamine labs in Craig, but they haven't yet had to respond to an explosion caused by a meth lab.

When that day comes, the Moffat County Hazardous Materials Team will be ready.

"If we need it, we have it," said Craig Police Sgt. Bill Leonard, a member of the HazMat team. "We don't do meth lab busts every day like Denver, but we have the capability to decontaminate them. If it burns, we'll put it out."

Moffat County's HazMat operation is a $600,000 investment at minimum, said Assistant Chief Bill Johnston of Craig's Fire Protection District.

The team has 12 Level-A HazMat suits, which offer the highest level of protection available, he said. The suits offer protection in the case of a flash fire and against most chemical spills or seepage. Team members are fully covered in double-layered suit with attached booties, gloves and head protection. Each suit is equipped with an oxygen tank and a communication device.

Evacuation procedures for residents involved in a meth lab bust or explosion would include a staged process, Johnston said.

Residents would pass through a series of tents, and be sprayed down for chemicals along the way.

The HazMat team has been in operation since 1993. It is funded by the city, the county and the fire district. It is on standby to the surrounding counties of Adams, Rio Blanco, Routt -- an 11,000-square-mile area, Johnston said.

According to protocol, firefighters first assess a fire or damage to a structure. HazMat would intervene if that assessment deems a meth lab was involved, Johnston said.

Discovering meth labs may become more common, as law enforcement continues to find evidence of the meth use in Craig, Leonard said.

"I suspect there's more meth labs in Craig," he said. "I know there's got to be some out there, but it's safe to say that most of it comes in from the outside, at least the majority of it."

Meth is an enticing drug because it is relatively inexpensive to make and easy to sell, he said.

Landlords report suspected meth manufacturing on their properties, but it is often difficult to tell -- and harder to prosecute -- if officials don't uncover a lab in progress, he said.

Four of the 10 HazMat members have been trained specifically to deal with meth-related explosions.

This summer, Leonard hopes to coordinate an educational seminar with the Denver Area Metro Drug Task Force to further train HazMat members and community agencies on procedures for dealing with houses that harbor meth labs.

HazMat member Rick Hall said he wouldn't consider buying a house in Craig without knowing its full history. He's well-versed in the harmful residue meth manufacturing creates.

"I think (Craig) is the perfect place to have meth labs," Hall said. "It's isolated. That concerns me as a citizen more than anything."

In general, community agencies are playing a game of catch-up in dealing with the hazards of meth manufacturing, Leonard said.

The short- and long-term residual effects of meth on people aren't conclusive, though enforcement officials know it's hazardous to some degree.

"What we don't know is if meth manufacturing is responsible for acute or chronic exposure to chemicals," he said.

Acute exposure would result in an immediate response, like watching a person faint from chlorine gas. Chronic exposure to meth may surface years later, as in some form of cancer, he said.

"We're scrambling to find the answers," Leonard said. "There are all different kinds of contaminants when you're working with a meth lab and they're all hazardous when they're mixed together."