REPORT: 1,000s of Colorado homes being built in areas of extreme wildfire risk

An investigative report published by the Colorado Springs Gazette has revealed a major gap in Colorado's wildfire mitigation strategy – a lack of updated plans amid rapid residential development.

According to the report, more than 2,000 new homes have been built over the past decade in the riskiest 1 percent of the state when it comes to wildfires, with one-third of these homes constructed in an area where the wildfire mitigation plan hasn't been updated within five years. If that 'one percent' threshold is changed to the riskiest five percent of the state, 23,000 new homes have been built, with at least 70 percent of those homes now existing in an area that lacks an updated mitigation plan.

It's no secret that development in Colorado continues to push into wildland territory where wildfire risk is elevated. According to Governor Jared Polis, approximately 2.9 million people live in Colorado's wildland-urban interface, a number that is up from 2 million just five years ago. Because of this, updated mitigation and response plans are crucial for future safety, especially in areas where major changes have taken place.

The full investigative report, conducted by Chris Osher, Evan Wyloge, and Mary Shinn, found that less than 17 percent of the state's 242 wildfire protection plans had been updated in the most recent five years – the official timeline for updating that's recommended, but not required, by the state.

Read more about this investigation, see mapping of at-risk areas, and learn about what can be done in the full report, found on the Colorado Springs Gazette website.

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