Community Wildfire Preparedness Update
The 2025 wildfire season has brought significant challenges across western Colorado. In Rico, residents faced possible evacuations; elsewhere on the Western Slope, homes and structures were destroyed, and ranching communities lost critical grazing land. These events are a sobering reminder that the impacts of wildfire reach us all here in the Ski Ranches.
The Ski Ranches Wildfire Committee, together with the Board, acknowledges that wildfire mitigation can be both costly and time-consuming. Nevertheless, if each homeowner commits to taking small,consistent steps over time, our community can become significantly more resilient to wildfire.
Wildfire prevention and preparedness are responsibilities we share collectively as neighbors. By working together and adopting a few straightforward precautions, we can reduce the risk of fire damage and enhance the safety of our community during wildfire season.
Please see the attached FEMA document, “Avoiding Wildfire Damage: A Checklist for Homeowners.” FEMA provides clear guidance on steps such as creating defensible space, keeping properties free of debris, and preparing emergency plans. With everyone’s participation,we can make our neighborhood more resilient and better prepared in the face of wildfires.
Wildfire Protection: your voice matters
San Miguel County is in the process of rewriting our Community Wildfire Protection Plan to continue to improve mitigation projects and actions. We are working with our fire experts and land managers to define the scope of the plan and would like to hear from you to include your recommendations as well.
Please complete our community engagement survey by clicking on the link to help us better understand how YOU perceive the wildfire risk in our area and what your primary concerns are.
Your input will be a crucial piece of our planning process.
We will also be hosting some community forums in the coming months - stay tuned! Thank you for doing your part to keep our community safe!
Your Ski Ranches Wildfire Mitigation Committee
