Grand County Updating Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Grand County has contracted SWCA Environmental Consultants to work in collaboration with municipal, state, and federal land management agencies to develop the 2023 Grand County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). A CWPP is designed to assist the County and landowners in ensuring that a future catastrophic wildfire is avoided or mitigated by assessing areas at risk and recommending measures to decrease those risks. We need to hear from YOU! Please scan the QR code below to take a brief survey letting your local land managers know about your concerns and ideas related to wildfire in your community.
Community Events
In conjunction with the County, SWCA will be hosting live (and recorded) online CWPP Q&A events with local first responders, emergency managers, and project managers.
These webinars will take place on Tuesday December 13th from 5-6pm MT as well as Tuesday January 10th from 4-5pm MT. These public meetings are the primary vehicle for you to give your feedback on your wildfire concerns in the County and ensure that the plan addresses them.
Who should be involved?
You (the public) can play a part in crafting fire mitigation recommendations to protect your community. Read below to find out more about the collaborative Community Wildfire Protection Plan process and public involvement.
Origin of Community Wildfire Protection Plans
CWPPs came out of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003. This Act provided communities with the opportunity to influence how and where federal agencies implement fuel reduction projects on federal lands and how additional funds may be distributed for projects on non-federal lands. A CWPP is the means through which public citizens can provide their voices in fuels management and fire protection planning for their communities. This 2023 CWPP will identify fire hazards and community values at risk in Grand County and provide recommendations to reduce the risk of wildfire to life and property.
The main goals of a CWPP as described in HFRA (2003) are:
• Collaboration- must be developed by local & state government, consulting with federal agencies.
• Prioritized fuel reduction- must identify the most at risk areas for treatment of hazardous fuel and recommend actions to protect communities and infrastructure.
• Treatment of structural ignitability- must recommend measures that homeowners and communities can take to reduce the ignitability of structures throughout the area addressed by the plan.
• Definition of a WUI- gives each Core Team of agency stakeholders the ability to define their wildland urban interface (WUI) area, where homes and structures come into contact with wildland fuels.
• Community risk analysis- using field based or geographic information system methodology, the Core Team assesses all hazards and risks associated with wildfire spread throughout the planning area.
• Discussion of fire fighting preparedness- to identify ways to enhance fire response. • Community involvement- to ensure that the planning effort incorporates public input and grassroots level planning.
View the Grand County CWPP StoryMap: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f7d37bd3818c47669e8dff1ad55b11b6
PROJECT CONTACT ARIANNA.PORTER@SWCA.COM
Photo credit: 9 News