Special to the HT
RBC | We wanted to follow up after our recent meeting and thank everyone who shared thoughts about the proposed Colorado WUI (Wildland-Urban Interface) code. We heard your strong opinions, good questions, and valid concerns- and we share them.
We’d like to step back from the code discussion for a moment and revisit the bigger picture.
We live with wildfire. We hear time and again that when weather, terrain, and fuels align, they set the stage for the difficult fires that will continue to challenge us.
We’ll have little luck altering terrain or weather, but we can choose to acknowledge that we are responsible for the fuels on our personal property. Mandates and code aside, we can choose to take action to mitigate these fuels, and to help each other when we lack the resources to act alone.
With awareness and neighbor-to-neighbor effort, we can choose actions that will slow fires and give our firefighters safer options.
If you’d like help walking your property or talking through options, please reach out and join us at ‘Fire Ready- A Community Conversation’ at the 4H building in Meeker April 23, from 6-8 p.m.
Representatives from local agencies will be on hand to answer questions and guide you to resources. A similar event will be held in Rangely — details to follow.
We thank you for the feedback you’ve provided, and we look forward to continued conversation and collaboration.
Respectfully,
Rio Blanco County Commissioners
Callie Scritchfield
Jennifer O’Hearon
Doug Overton