Archives: Communities
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Gunnison County, Colorado
Located in the middle of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Gunnison County is known for its natural amenities and recreational opportunities. Drawn by the forests, open space, and scenery, people have increasingly moved to the county’s more rural areas and its wildland-urban interface (WUI). Development is particularly being driven by second home ownership and retirees, with 68%…
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Huerfano County, Colorado
In 2013, the East Peak Fire burned in the steep canyons of the Spanish Peaks in the southern part of Huerfano County, forcing the evacuation of a Boy Scout camp and dozens of homes while putting the entire City of Walsenburg on pre-evacuation notice. The fire burned more than 13,000 acres and Huerfano County suffered…
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La Plata County, Colorado
La Plata County, located in southwest Colorado, is characterized by a diverse geography of mountains, forests, and grasslands. The San Juan National Forest stretches across much of the northern part of the county, offering extensive outdoor and recreational opportunities. As such, the county seat of Durango has become a destination for retirees, second home owners,…
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Lewis & Clark County, Montana
When a large smoke column rose from the Scratch Gravel Hills in the northern part of the Helena Valley in June of 2012, it could be seen from the Montana State Capitol in downtown Helena. When the fire was contained days later, 200 firefighters had responded, four homes had been lost and another 30 damaged.…
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Los Alamos County, New Mexico
Los Alamos, New Mexico is surrounded by fire-adapted forest ecosystems and has experienced significant wildfires. The 47,000-acre Cerro Grande Fire began in May 2000 when changing winds carried embers from a prescribed burn across the fire line. Approximately 18,000 people—the entire populations of Los Alamos and White Rock—were evacuated. The fire spread rapidly over the…
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Los Angeles County, California
Since 1933, four of the top 20 deadliest wildfires in California have been located in Los Angeles County. Since 2007, wildland fires burned over 300,000 acres and destroyed nearly 650 residences in the county. In 2018, the Woolsey Fire burned 96,949 acres across two counties, destroyed 1,121 residential and commercial structures and damaged another 189…
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Mammoth Lakes, California
The town of Mammoth Lakes, California is the county’s primary employment and services center and its ski resort, Mammoth Mountain, is a regional destination. During ski season, the population can increase five-fold. At 8,000 feet in elevation, the community is surrounded by forest land. Mammoth Lakes also serves as a gateway to Inyo National Forest…
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Mariposa County, California
Communities in Mariposa County, California have been repeatedly impacted by wildfires over the years. Situated adjacent to Yosemite National Park, the county is characterized by dense forests and sprawling chaparral. Since 2001, nearly 60 percent of the county land area has burned. In 2017, the Detwiler Fire burned more than 81,000 acres in Mariposa County…
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Medford, Oregon
Medford lies within the Rogue Valley which is located in southwestern Oregon. Communities within the valley are intertwined with the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, forest lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and Oregon Department of Forestry, as well as many privately owned and maintained lands. Large wildfires are a common occurrence in southwest…
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Missoula County, Montana
The Great Fires of 1910 burned three million acres in Montana and Idaho, shaping our country’s early wildland fire policies and leaving a lasting impression on Missoula County, Montana. Since then, numerous fires have destroyed homes throughout Missoula County. With a rapid population growth, Missoula County is in the ninety-fifth percentile of Western counties for risk of…
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Nederland, Colorado
Over recent decades, Nederland has become a destination for recreationists, visitors, retirees, and others wanting to be closer to the mountains. Located north of Denver, Colorado and in Boulder County, Nederland is surrounded by public lands, including the Indian Peaks Wilderness, Rocky Mountain National Park, Roosevelt National Forest, and the James Peak Wilderness. In 2016,…
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Park County, Montana
As part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, residents of Park County are adept at living with natural disturbances, including everything from bison mowing down fences, to flooding from ice dams on the Yellowstone River, to wildfire. In the last three decades, more than one million acres of land in Park County have burned. The most…
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Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
A gateway community to Smokey Mountain National Park and home to Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is a unique rural/suburban community that includes thousands of seasonal cabins, residential homes, and condominiums spread throughout valleys, hillsides, and forested areas. In November 2016, Pigeon Forge lost 18 homes in a fire that consumed nearly 2,500 homes and killed…
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Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona
The town of Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona is situated next to the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in the world. Located in the eastern edge of the state, Pinetop-Lakeside rests at the base of the White Mountains. In recent years, two historic wildfires—the Rodeo Chediski Fire in 2002 and the Wallow Fire in 2011—collectively consumed nearly 1…
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Redding, California
The City of Redding, California has an extensive history with wildfires. Located in Shasta County and in the northern part of the state, Redding experiences more than 100 fires annually. In 2018, the Carr Fire, one of the state’s most destructive wildfires in history, started at the edge of Redding and burned nearly 230,000 acres…
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San Diego, California
Steep canyons of brush winding among San Diego’s dense housing and business developments provide welcome open space and a haven for native plants and wildlife. They also provide plenty of fuel for fast-moving wildfires. Three of California’s largest wildfires have blown up in San Diego County where wildfire risk has only increased during the region’s…
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San Luis Valley, Colorado
Southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley ranges from grass and shrub ecosystems in the valley bottom to high-elevation forests in the surrounding mountains. With smaller, scattered towns and villages throughout the region, wildfires have threatened communities several times in the last two decades, destroying homes and causing evacuations. The six-county area that comprises the San Luis…
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Santa Fe, New Mexico
City planners in Santa Fe, New Mexico are balancing competing priorities – protecting community aesthetic values, managing long-term growth, improving economic development, and preserving the natural landscape – all while reducing the threat of wildfire. An arid climate coupled with climate change projections of more frequent and intense wildfires has led city planners to integrate…
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Sisters, Oregon
Sisters is on the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains, and is nearly completely surrounded by Deschutes National Forest. It is the fastest growing city in Oregon, and residential and commercial development is pressing up against the neighboring forest lands. Wildfire seasons have been increasing in length and the threat of ignition from embers is…
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Summit County, Colorado
In 2014, Headwaters Economics embarked on the challenge of addressing community wildfire risk through improved land use planning policies, regulations and related activities. Headwaters Economics collaborated with Wildfire Planning International and Clarion Associates in Summit County, Colorado to analyze and recommend forward-thinking changes to key planning documents and development regulations. As a result of the…