YOUR AD HERE »

Grand County Wildfire Mitigation partners celebrate successes in 2022

The 2020 East Troublesome Fire shown from Cottonwood Pass. The Grand County Wildfire Council has been working with their partners on fire mitigation throughout the county. In January 2023 they released their accomplishments from 2022.
Andrew Lussie/Courtesy photo

In an era of megafires in Colorado, the Grand County Wildfire Council works to educate the community about increased risk, providing a conduit between fire mitigation resources and individuals. Created in 2013, the Wildfire Council includes diverse group of members from the Colorado State Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, fire protection districts, Northern Water and Denver Water.

At the council’s January steering committee meeting, members presented a summary of the “2022 Grand County Wildfire Mitigation Successes.”  The achievements include accomplishments by the Wildfire Council, Colorado State Forest Service’s Granby office, Arapaho National Forest’s Sulphur Ranger District, Routt National Forest’s Yampa Ranger District, BLM’s Kremmling Field Office, Grand County Natural Resources, Grand County Office of Emergency Management and local fire districts. 

“Though a lot of work was accomplished in 2022, there is still more work to be done,” wrote Katlin Miller, council programs manager, in a news release.



According to the release, Grand County is currently in the process of updating its community wildfire protection plan.  Community input is an important part of the planning process. The  county has created an interactive story map and survey to gather community input and host information about the plan. The story map can be found at Co.Grand.Co.Us.

In 2023, Grand County’s wildfire mitigation partners will continue to work together toward their mutual goal of becoming a “fire adapted community,” which means they take responsibility and implement actions to reduce wildfire risk. The council is currently a member of the organization Fire Adapted Colorado.



In spring 2023, it will also host Chipping Days, where residents can remove smaller trees and branches on their property and bring them to locations to be chipped.

“The successes listed below do not include the activities of private homeowners that did not take part in the (council’s) partners’ programs,” wrote Miller. “While it is difficult to estimate the amount of work done by private landowners and contractors, these actions should not be undervalued.”

Grand County Wildfire Council/Courtesy Photo

The following is a list of just some of the council’s and their partners’ achievements. These achievements will reduce the intensity of a future fires, making conditions much more favorable for firefighters to work effectively.

Grand County Wildfire Council 

– Five community Chipping Days: 257 attendees in total and 312 acres mitigated. 

– Forty-two recipients reimbursed $124,695.90 from the fuels reduction cost-share programs and 217 acres mitigated.

– A new wildfire educational guide and increased educational resources, available on the council’s website, BeWildFireReady.org.

Colorado State Forest Service 

Awarded $1 million from Healthy Forests Vibrant Communities State of Colorado. The project will be located in near Fraser at Sheep Mountain, with an expected completion date of Dec. 15, 2023. 

– Three educational outreach events with a total of 90 attendees. Twelve communities received designation by the Fire Protection Association as Firewise Neighborhoods.

  Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest – East Grand  

– East Troublesome Mulch Source units: 81 acres, clearcuts in burn area.

– East Troublesome Fire scar reforestation:  planted 128,000 trees across 889 acres.

Routt National Forest – West Grand 

– 116 acres of cutting and piling completed; pile burning to continue in 2023 with 20 acres burned in December 2022. 

Bureau of Land Management – Kremmling 

– East Troublesome Aerial seeding: 8,000 acres 

Grand County Division of Natural Resources 2021-2022 summary

– Four hundred and thirty-four burn permits issued countywide for local fire protection districts.

  Grand County Office of Emergency Management in partnership with Team Rubicon 

– Individuals served: 240, homes mitigated: 108 

Local fire protection districts 

– 10 home and roadside thinning projects, 50 Home and HOA inspections. 

To learn more about the Grand County Wildfire Council, its programs and meetings, or read the council’s full 2022 achievements, visit BeWildFireReady.org. Their next meeting will be held on April 23; it is open to the public in person and via Zoom.  

More Like This, Tap A Topic
communitygrand-countynewswildlife

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live.

Over the past year, contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting, including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire.

If you value local journalism, consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do.