The CWPP Identifies Wildfire Risks in the Area Where Wildland Fuels and Human Development Meet (Wildland-Urban Interface, WUI)
A crucial aspect of the CWPP is to recommend strategies for reducing the risk of hazardous fuels, enhancing public outreach and education, lowering the ignitability for structures, and improving fire response capabilities. Funded by Boulder’s Climate Tax, passed by voters in November 2022, the CWPP will serve as a guiding document that will assist the city and landowners in making informed decisions with respect to wildfire preparation and management.
From 2023-2024, the city lead an initiative to update the CWPP. This initiative included community sessions for input and feedback as well as the cooperation of multiple city departments and regional partners. Community members can expect processes similar to this in the future as wildfire resilience strategy is ever changing and Boulder wants to remain on the forefront of risk mitigation.
City of Boulder CWPP
Check out different aspects of the CWPP using the story map linked below.
A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is a collaboratively created comprehensive and strategic plan that recommends wildfire risk reduction measures to protect people, property, and natural and cultural resources. The CWPP is developed with the participation of local residents, community leaders, land managers, fire personnel, and other stakeholders.
The CWPP process involves a thorough assessment of the community's wildfire risk and vulnerabilities, including the analysis of fire history, fuel (vegetation) conditions, weather patterns, and the community's capacity to respond to wildfire events. Based on the assessment, the CWPP outlines a set of actions that can be taken to reduce the risk and improve the community's preparedness and resiliency.
CWPP Core Objectives
Fire Adapted Communities
People and communities are prepared to receive, respond to and recover from wildfire.
Safe, Effective Wildfire Response
All jurisdictions coordinate to implement safe, effective, risk-based management decisions.
Resilient Landscapes
Landscapes are resilient to fire, insect, and disease disturbances, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries.
Post-Fire Recovery
Preparing communities for inevitable fire effects, through pre-fire planning for post-fire response.
What are the elements of a CWPP?
Community profile: A description of the community, including its history, demographics, and geography.
Wildfire risk assessment: An analysis of the wildfire risk, including the assessment of fuels, weather, and topography.
Community wildfire protection goals: A set of goals that outline the community's priorities for wildfire protection.
Action plan: A detailed list of actions that can be taken to achieve the community's wildfire protection goals.
Implementation strategy: A plan for how the community will implement the actions outlined in the action plan, including the identification of resources and partners.
Evaluation and monitoring: A plan for how the community will evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of the CWPP and update it over time.
The CWPP is an essential tool for wildfire prevention and management, as it provides a roadmap for how a community can reduce its wildfire risk and improve its resiliency in the face of wildfire events. With the engaged CWPP process that the city just went through, communities can better understand their wildfire risk and work collaboratively to implement actions that will reduce that risk and protect the community from the potentially devastating impacts of wildfire.
