Community Defense Against Wildfire
Our communities in the west are vulnerable to wildfire during drought conditions, especially as the impacts of climate change increase. We work to provide adaptation solutions to wildfire hazards.
Louisville Wildfire
Graeme Aggett
February 1, 2023
Just one year ago on December 30, 2021, the Marshall Fire swept through the City of Louisville, Town of Superior, and unincorporated Boulder County, destroying and damaging more than 1,000 homes and over 30 commercial structures. In terms of structures lost, it was the most destructive fire in Colorado history. Wildfire risk isn’t just limited to forests and mountains and this event could be just a preview of how future events could impact city suburbs and infrastructure. For example, the Marshall fire rekindled concerns that parts of the electrical grid might be under increased risk amid drought and rising temperatures that will continue to warm and dry the state into the future. Those patterns will only intensify as human activities add greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, further priming the landscape for extreme fire behavior and extending fire seasons. Nearly 3 million Coloradans live in fire-prone areas, referred to as the wildland-urban interface or WUI. That’s about half the state’s population.
Lynker has just been awarded a contract to examine the risks of wildfire to, and posed by, the City of Louisville’s public lands in and around the City, and identifying opportunities for wildfire mitigation in order to be more resilient in future events. We are very much looking forward to working with the City on this important project.
