Ensuring Healthy Landscapes

Leading our wildfire preparedness effort

Heavy fuel loads in our forests combine with recent warmer, drier temperatures and bigger wind events to create high wildfire risk in Chaffee County. We know this because fires are more frequent and intense.

The Envision Forest Health Council developed the Chaffee County Community Wildfire Protection Plan to address the risk with up to 30,000 acres of forest treatments by 2030 — an objective that would halve the risk severe wildfire currently poses to people, structures and natural resources in our community. Implementation spans priority areas on 70% public and 30% private lands.

The plan uses computer modeling to map the level of risk and identify the right areas to treat for the highest cost efficiency and community benefit. In four years, 10,500 acres of treatments took place while 17,000 acres of projects are in the planning pipeline. $33 million has been raised to support plan implementation by leveraging tax revenues from the Chaffee Common Ground Fund. Read more about accomplishments or view the plan and maps: