May is Wildfire Awareness Month!
May is Wildfire Awareness Month across the state of Colorado, and across our nation. This serves as an opportunity to better understand wildfire risk and prepare our homes and communities for potential wildfire impacts.
Wildfire is identified in Colorado’s Enhanced State Hazard Mitigation Plan (ESHMP) as “extremely high risk,” and highlights that this is a hazard that poses risk statewide, with a 100% probability of annual occurrence. It is also anticipated that due to factors that exacerbate wildfire conditions - such as beetle infestations, population growth in the wildland-urban interface, and climate change impacts like longer wildfire seasons or prolonged dry periods - this will lead to more extreme and intense wildfire events. We are already seeing examples of this with Colorado’s largest and most destructive wildfires having occurred since 2018.
How the State is Taking Action
Wildfire is a naturally-occurring phenomenon in Colorado. Most ecosystems across the state are actually adapted to wildfire, and even need it to occur on a regular basis in order to regenerate properly. However, it is when we have catastrophic and intensely-burning fires that we have destructive outcomes versus beneficial ones. There are several ways in which the State of Colorado is taking action to reduce the impacts and vulnerabilities of wildfire:
- Gaining Better Understanding of Wildfire Risk: State agencies are continuing to monitor and adjust strategies based on currently available data to understand wildfire risk. This includes better understanding of wildfire behavior and changing conditions that lead to increased vulnerability. In 2023, the Colorado State Forest Service updated the Colorado Forest Atlas to better help Colorado residents understand their wildfire risk. Additionally, plans such as the Enhanced State Hazard Mitigation Plan, the Colorado Climate Preparedness Roadmap, and the Colorado Resiliency Framework help us better understand and address impacts, including those caused by climate change and how they may exacerbate future wildfire events by assessing data and developing actionable strategies.
- Addressing Wildfire Impacts in the Watershed: Our watersheds are extremely important resources in our state, and have cascading impacts from catastrophic wildfire including loss of habitat, increased sedimentation in the water, loss of wildlife, and not to mention increased flooding or debris flow threat. The Colorado Water Conservation Board continues to make progress on implementation of SB 21-240 that established the Wildfire-Ready Watersheds Program. This program helps identity our state’s most vulnerable watersheds and develop and implement strategies to lessen the long-term effects that wildfires have on stream corridors, water infrastructure, and community assets.
- Strengthening Codes in the Wildland-Urban Interface: Colorado is a highly desirable place to live. However, increasing population density in the wildland-urban interface has also increased the likelihood of communities experiencing loss as a result of fire. Therefore, since 2023, the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code Board, has been developing a statewide wildfire resiliency code to enhance community safety.
- Strengthening Coordination for Recovery Action: It is important to prepare for recovery from wildfire prior to events occurring. Last year, the Colorado Resiliency Office hired a Recovery Manager who works across State agencies involved in disaster management to improve coordination for recovery needs and resources. This role additionally provides resources, toolkits, and technical expertise to local communities seeking to strengthen their resilience capacity.
How Individuals Can Take Action
The Colorado State Forest Service celebrates its third year of leading the Live Wildfire Ready Campaign. This resource highlights ways in which Colorado community members can take action to prepare their homes, properties, and communities for wildfire. While this website provides a wide range of resources including checklists, video demonstrations, mitigation tools, and more, some important actions each individual can take today to prepare include:
- Learning about your wildfire risk where you live
- Preparing an evacuation plan with your family and packing a go-kit
- Ensuring that your home address signs are visible from the street
- Signing up for emergency alerts (check your local emergency management or sheriff’s office website to learn more)
Additionally, we are stronger together. Numerous national studies done since Hurricane Katrina found that social capital was one of the greatest determinants of community resilience, as well as a community’s ability to recover more quickly and effectively due to their ability to band together and pool resources. When preparing for wildfire, consider how you might engage your neighbors around you in your planning, and how you might be able to support one another!
Learn more about the Colorado Resiliency Office, including additional opportunities for technical assistance and resources.