PRE-FIRE HAZARD PLANNING IN COLORADO WITH WILDFIRE READY ACTION PLANS

The need for pre-fire planning to anticipate and mitigate post-fire hydrologic hazards is becoming more apparent in the western United States and elsewhere. In 2021, Colorado passed Senate Bill (SB) 21-240 to fund a statewide pre-fire hazard susceptibility study and to create a framework for the preparation of more detailed Wildfire Ready Action Plans (WRAPs). Following, additional funds from SB 21-240 were appropriated to grantees seeking to prepare their own WRAP. Wright Water Engineers, Inc. (WWE) was part of the technical assistance team for the statewide study and is now participating in the WRAP process for several project sponsors around the state of Colorado. In this talk, we will discuss the primary methods used to conduct predictive post-fire hydrologic, erosion, debris flow, and fluvial hazard evaluations for WRAPs, and how the data generated by each hazard evaluation is then used to evaluate the susceptibility of critical assets to said hazards. Several lessons learned will be discussed, such as when and how to engage stakeholders, the need for programmatic guidance on methodology, and the importance of integrating new wildfire-related planning and guidance documents with pre-existing information, such as Community Wildfire Protection Programs (CWPPs).