Wildfires are a natural part of Colorado’s forests. If your home and other structures intermingle with wildland vegetation, you are at risk of being affected by wildfire. Planning ahead and taking action can increase the likelihood your home survives when a wildfire occurs.
Learn how you can protect your home, property and forest and be Firewise, and if you are eligible for the Wildfire Mitigation Tax Credit.
Firefighters always do their best to reduce fire damage, but ultimately, it is your responsibility to protect your property from wildfire. Taking practical steps to prepare your home does not guarantee it will survive a wildfire, but it does improve the odds. Any work completed may also allow firefighters who might be present to safely engage the fire and attempt to protect your property. If fire and site conditions are unsafe, firefighters will not be there.
The Home Ignition Zone
As you address the home ignition zone on your property, always start with the home or structure and work outwards. Remember, taking action to prepare for a wildfire is not a one-time effort — it requires ongoing maintenance to give your home the best chance of surviving a wildfire.
Bad defensible space
A home such as the one pictured above does not have sufficient defensible space.
Keep in mind that fires can burn from the outside to a home, but can also start in a home and burn to the outside endangering the surrounding forest and other residents’ homes. Good defensible space will help protect your home in either case.
This lot retains the look of a forested area while still providing good defensible space for the house.
This Douglas County home has good defensible space while maintaining the rural setting and ambiance created by trees.
Examples of ladder fuels are found almost everywhere in Douglas County. Flames snaking along the ground would feed on the shrubs. The resulting flames from the shrubs would easily ignite the crowns of the trees above them.
Other Mitigation Resources in Douglas County
The following resources are provided for informational purposes only.
Wildfire Mitigation staff is involved with several collaborative partnerships including the Front Range Fuels Roundtable and the Pikes Peak Wildfire Prevention Partners (PPWPP), NGOs such as the Coalition for the Upper South Platte (CUSP) and communities to assist with mitigation projects and program outreach on hazardous fuels reduction projects in Douglas County with funds acquired from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
