By Shannon Lukens.

The 2024 Wildfire Mitigation Conference was Friday on the CMC campus. The mission of the Routt County Wildfire Mitigation Council is to create fire-adapted communities and minimize the potential impacts of wildfire. “We do this through partnerships and coordination, education and outreach, and programs that assist with long-term risk reduction.”

 

Josh Hankes is Executive Director.

“We managed to get all these leaders from public land management, agency leadership, fire protection districts, to talk about what we can collectively do to reduce our vulnerability to wildfire.”

 

Carolina Manriquez is with the Colorado State Forest Service. She spoke about the Community Wildfire Protection Plan and the priorities of Life Safety, Critical Infrastructure, Economic Drivers, and Property.

Priority #1 is Life Safety

• Firefighter Safety
• Public Safety
• Vulnerable populations
• Evacuations

Priority #2 is Critical Infrastructure

• Electrical infrastructure/supply
• Communications
• Water Infrastructure/supply
• Medical Centers

Priority #3 is Economic Drivers

• Tourism & Recreation
• Ski Areas
• Agriculture and ranching
• Airports and railway

Priority #4 is Property

• 50% of area is held by individuals
• Residences
• Government facilities

Regarding implementation and execution, Manriquez added, “If we work together, we can make a difference.”

 

Kevin Thompson is the File Management officer for the Wildland Urban Interface with the U.S. Forest Service. He spoke about mapping and the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), which is the transition between unoccupied lands and human development.

The Colorado Wildfire Risk Viewer is designed to increase wildfire awareness, provide a comprehensive view of wildfire risk and local fire history, and educate users about wildfire prevention and mitigation resources available from the Colorado State Forest Service. This viewer is intended to support homeowners and community leaders.

 

Sam Parsons is the District Chief for the Colorado Division of Fire Protection and Control. He represents ten counties. He also discussed the priorities for fighting a wildland fire, which are Life Safety, Critical Infrastructure, Economic Drivers, and Property.

 

Alyssa Wilhelme is with the Routt County Office of Emergency Management. The agency is working on a dashboard called the Routt County Community Wildfire Protection Plan Implementation. She went through the status of the dashboard and asked for input. This is where different agencies can update with mitigation they have done in Routt County. It includes how much is spent on mitigation and how many acres were treated, and where. “It’s a data repository for all of us.”