Wildfire Prevention

South Metro Fire Rescue Authority is committed to reducing the risk of wildfires. It's a collaborative approach that involves firefighters, life safety educators, planners, water supply technicians, emergency manager and other subject matter experts.

SMFRA has adopted a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), a planning document for our prevention and suppression activities. The CWPP identifies 42 communities in our district that face low to very high risks for wildfires based on vegetation, building contruction, water supply, and other criteria. Communities and fire districts with CWPPs are eligible for state, federal and private grants to offset the costs of mitigation.

Residents of those communities (and other district residents) can learn about wildfire risk and prevention in our CWPP. We're also encouraging each of those communities to develop their own CWPPs to identify priorities and implementation plans. These neighborhood-level CWPPs are already mostly complete because they'll be based on the "umbrella" of information provided in the SMFRA version. Neighborhood representatives can meet with a team from SMFRA, Douglas County and the Colorado State Forest Service to identify hazardous areas within their neighborhoods and strategies for reducing those hazards. Happy Canyon, Pine Ridge and Hidden Village implemented CWPPs prior to our district-level campaign; the City of Castle Pines North is the first neighborhood to use our umbrella document as a foundation for their own CWPP.  We look forward to working with the other neighborhoods, too. Neighborhood representatives such as HOA Directors can contact Life Safety Educator Einar Jensen for information on this process.

There's another CWPP process underway that affects SMFRA's citizens: Douglas County has initiated its CWPP in response to a law passed in the 2009 legislative session. For information on the county's process click on the Douglas County CWPP logo.

Another tool is the Ready-Set-Go program, which includes tips on preparing your property to resist wildfires (and other disasters). The brochure is available as a pdf by clicking on the image.

Understanding wildfires isn't reserved for adults.  Children can click here to see a video about wildfires and their role in our ecosystems.

The risk of wildfires is highest in the southern part of our fire district, but all of us can benefit from making our homes ignition resistant from external fires, whether it’s the neighbor’s house on fire or a patch of open space burning.