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The national database of state and local wildfire hazard mitigation programs
serves as a clearinghouse of information about nonfederal policies and
programs that seek to reduce the risk of loss of life and property through
the reduction of hazardous fuels on private lands. If
you would like to submit a program to the national wildfire programs database,
please complete the following form (MS
Word).
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Title: |
Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) Wildfire Hazard Mitigation Program
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Type: |
Regulatory
Homeowner assistance
Education
Designation of high risk areas
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Jurisdiction: |
State
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State: |
Colorado
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Program Description: |
The Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) provides outreach and technical assistance on wildfire control to all areas of the state through its 17 regional district offices. Assistance is in the broad areas of wildfire prevention, preparedness, mitigation and suppression. CSFS partners with federal agencies and individuals to carry out this mission.
HAZARD RISK MAPPING
CSFS recently completed the Wildland Urban Interface Hazard Risk Map of 2002. Created using satellite imagery, the map shows the entire state, and rates land areas for potential wildfire hazard risk from low to high, based on such criteria as: vegetative fuels, topography, aspect, and housing density. The locations of WUI communities are shown on the map. This map is very important for planning purposes as it identifies areas of concern for targeted mitigation efforts.
OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
The district offices are very active with outreach activities. CSFS does subdivision review on all proposed subdivisions of 40 acres or more. They write prescriptions for vegetation reduction activities by landowners and homeowners, and meet with homeowners groups to educate them about the need for defensible space. CSFS provides homeowners with a self-assessment form based on NFPA 299.
Cost-share money to do mitigation projects is available to communities through the National Fire Plan. Colorado has applied for and received many grants for community assistance projects. A few of these include: Woodmoor Subdivision in El Paso County, Hotchkiss Fire Department, Mt. Evans Fuel Break Project, and Larimer County Slash Removal Program. See the CSFS NFP Success Stories Mitigation and Education Programs 2001-2002 entries on this website for descriptions of these projects.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Through one NFP grant CSFS has provided every high school in Colorado with a CD-Rom for their Science classes called "Burning Issues." This is an interactive game and instructional tool, which shows students how quickly fire can get out of hand, and threaten life and home.
Additionally, CSFS has provided every fire department in the state with a Firewise notebook which includes a videotape and a curriculum for educating their communities about defensible space and firewise living. The curriculum addresses issues of access, water supply, construction materials and defensible space. CSFS has trained the local Red Cross to assist in hazard risk assessments in cooperation with BLM and the USDA, Forest Service.
The Firewise Notebook includes many of the same publications which are available on the CSFS website. Some of those are listed here:
Creating Wildfire-Defensible Zones,
Fire-Resistant Landscaping,
Forest Fome Fire Safety,
FireWise Plant Materials,
Grass Seed Mixes to Reduce Wildfire Hazard.
Copies of these publications and the FireWise video and notebook are available by contacting Judy Serby
COUNTY FIRE MANAGEMENT PLANS
A new initiative of CSFS is Fire Management Planning. CSFS personnel are working with multiple counties to create a fire management framework for the counties. This involves a planning process to identify needs, and to identify the local agency with the authority to address those needs. Then the county is asked to prioritize areas of high value, such as wildland habitat, tourism, historical buildings, subdivisions, or power lines, and develop plans to create protective buffer zones around those sites. CSFS writes the prescriptions for creating defensible space around these areas, and the county or community seeks funding to do the clearing, thinning and slash removal.
CSFS provides technical assistance to localities writing Wildland Urban Interface regulations to reduce wildfire risk.
Under a new Colorado law, lightning-strike, naturally occurring fires may be allowed to burn without suppression on state and county lands where there is a County Fire Management Plan in place. Individual landowners may choose to add their acreage to the natural ignition burn area by individual agreement with the county government.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information on these projects, contact Rich Homann via email or call 970-491-6303.
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