Town of Crestone earns first SLV Firewise USA recognition for wildfire preparedness

The Crestone Town Board spearheaded the Firewise recognition effort, and indicated in its application to the program that “they were motivated to pursue the Firewise status as a way to help recognize fire mitigation efforts and to help motivate and educate residents.” The Colorado State Forest Service presented the Firewise USA recognition materials to the Town of Crestone on Sept. 5.
Recognition efforts to mitigate wildfire risks can benefit homeowners when seeking property insurance coverage, said Supervisory Forester Adam Moore of the CSFS Alamosa Field Office. He adds that federal and state grant opportunities often give weight to a Firewise USA designation when determining who gets competitive funding.
The CSFS works with the National Fire Protection Association to implement the Firewise USA program in Colorado, and provides technical assistance and education to interested landowners and communities to help them take action in preparing their homes against the threat of wildfire. Steps required for a community to receive the national designation include obtaining a wildfire risk assessment from the state forestry agency or a local fire department, forming a Firewise board and creating an action plan based on the wildfire risk assessment.
Foresters with the CSFS Alamosa Field Office worked with Crestone officials to conduct the wildfire risk assessment and create an action plan for the community. The plan involves identifying realistic action items that will improve the community’s wildfire readiness, such as implementing fire mitigation grants, creating defensible space around homes and furthering resident fire education.
“The Alamosa Field Office has started working more closely with the Town of Crestone over the last few years on fuels mitigation efforts, and becoming a Firewise community was the next logical step to increase community participation,” said Moore.
The Crestone Town Board and the CSFS expressed their appreciation to Crestone’s citizens for their active part in working to create defensible spaces as a step of community engagement toward becoming a Firewise community.
Other communities or municipalities in the SLV interested in pursuing the Firewise designation can contact Moore at 719-587-0915.
The Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) is a service and outreach agency of the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University and provides staffing for the Division of Forestry within the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. The CSFS provides professional forestry assistance, wildfire mitigation expertise and outreach and education to help landowners and communities achieve their forest management goals.
The CSFS Southwest Area serves southwestern Colorado from field offices in Salida, Alamosa, Durango, Gunnison and Montrose. For more information, visit csfs.colostate.edu.