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Mountain Wildfire ReadyColorado foothills

Conifer · Evergreen · Bailey · Morrison · Front Range foothills

Mountain Wildfire Ready

Practical wildfire readiness for Colorado’s mountain and foothills communities west of Denver.

Start with the home ignition zone Sign up for emergency alerts

Guidance on this sample site is drawn from official public sources. Always follow evacuation orders and instructions from your local fire district.

Around the house

Home ignition zone and defensible space

The Colorado State Forest Service explains that a home’s chance of surviving a wildfire depends on how easily the structure can ignite and on the quality of the defensible space around it. Together, the house and that surrounding area are the home ignition zone. Maintain it regularly — vegetation grows back.

Zone 1 · 0–5 feet

The most important ring

CSFS calls this the area nearest the home, and the one that needs the most careful work. Keep it a noncombustible zone:

  • Use concrete, flagstone, pavers, brick, gravel, or bare ground — not wood-chip, bark, pine-needle, or rubber mulch.
  • Rake and remove pine needles, leaves, and other debris in a 5-foot radius around the foundation and deck, more than once a year if needed.
  • Do not store firewood, lumber, or other ignitable materials here. Avoid combustible patio furniture, cushions, and doormats.
Zone 2 · 5–30 feet

Break up the fuels

  • Reduce vegetation and plant in small, irregular clusters or “islands,” not large masses.
  • Use driveways, paths, rock, and other hardscape as fuel breaks.
  • Mow grass and weeds to 4 inches or less.
  • Keep firewood and aboveground propane tanks at least 30 feet from the home, preferably at the same elevation or uphill. Clear flammable vegetation within 10 feet of woodpiles, tanks, and gas meters. Do not stack firewood on or under the deck.
Zone 3 · 30–100 feet

Slow the fire’s path

  • On relatively flat ground, this zone extends about 100 feet from the home. Steeper slopes may need more space — ask your CSFS field office or fire district.
  • Thin and space vegetation so fuels are less continuous. Remove dead plant material and heavy ground litter.
  • Keep chipped slash isolated 30 feet or more from the home, and avoid a continuous carpet of wood chips.

Harden the structure itself

CSFS top priorities for lowering structural ignitability include:

  • A roof with a Class A fire rating; keep leaves, needles, and debris off the roof, gutters, and decks.
  • Screen attic, roof, eave, and foundation vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh. Screen or wall-in areas under decks and stilt foundations the same way.
  • Tempered glass for windows; two or more panes are recommended.
  • Six inches of vertical clearance between the ground and home siding.
  • Replace combustible fencing or gates at least within 5 feet of the home.
  • Remove branches that hang over the roof and chimney.

Use the official checklists

Do not treat this page as a complete prescription for your lot. Slope, vegetation, and construction all matter. Work from the Colorado State Forest Service guides, and ask your fire district about a home assessment where one is offered.

Sources: Colorado State Forest Service and the National Fire Protection Association. Zone distances above follow CSFS guidance for relatively flat ground.

If you have to leave

Go-bag and evacuation checklist

Ready.gov says you may have to evacuate quickly. Learn your routes, practice with pets, and decide where you will go. When officials advise or order an evacuation, leave immediately.

The Five Ps of Evacuation

From Ready.gov’s How to Prepare for a Wildfire:

People

People and, if safely possible, pets and other animals or livestock.

Prescriptions

Medicines with dosages, medical equipment, batteries or power cords, and eyeglasses.

Papers

Important documents — hard copies and/or electronic copies stored safely.

Personal needs

Clothes, food, water, a first aid kit, cash, phones and chargers, plus items for disabilities, older adults, and children.

Priceless items

Pictures, irreplaceable mementos, and other valuables you can carry.

Build a kit you can grab

Ready.gov recommends storing supplies so you can leave quickly, and stocking a basic kit that can include:

  • Water (one gallon per person per day for several days) and several days of non-perishable food, plus a manual can opener
  • Flashlight, extra batteries, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, and a NOAA Weather Radio if you have one
  • First aid kit, whistle, and dust mask
  • Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery
  • Local maps, copies of insurance and identification in a waterproof container, and cash
  • Prescriptions, eyeglasses, pet food and extra water, infant supplies, and a change of clothes with sturdy shoes

Keep a half tank of gas in the car when you can; Ready.gov advises a full tank if evacuation seems likely. Public shelters may not accept pets other than service animals, so plan pet lodging now.

Know two ways out

The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control advises residents in the wildland-urban interface to confirm at least one alternate path out of the neighborhood besides the one they usually drive, and to make sure house numbers are clearly visible from the street.

Ready.gov also recommends a household communications plan, an out-of-area contact, and a meeting place if you get separated. Take your kit, listen to local instructions, and leave early enough that you are not trapped.

Sources: Ready.gov (including the Five Ps wording from How to Prepare for a Wildfire) and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.

Get the official word

Sign up for county emergency alerts

Do not rely on social media or a neighbor’s text as your first warning. Register the cell phones and email addresses you actually use. Landline enrollment, where it exists, will not cover your mobile devices.

If you live, work, or commute across county lines, register in each county that matters. Statewide context is on the Colorado DHSEM emergency alert page. During an incident, follow official orders — not this website.

Before and after a fire

Insurance tips

Insurance rules and discounts change, and they vary by company. Use these official starting points, then talk with your insurer or agent about your own policy.

What to ask your insurer

The Colorado Division of Insurance notes that many companies expect policyholders to reduce wildfire risk, and some require on-site inspections. Its property-and-wildfire preparedness guidance also suggests:

  • Ask what prevention or mitigation steps your company requires or rewards, and what documentation or inspection it wants.
  • Do an annual policy “checkup” so coverage keeps pace with local building costs, remodels, and a current inventory of belongings. Photos and videos help.
  • Ask about replacement-cost coverage and whether your limits would rebuild the home in today’s market. Colorado law requires insurers to offer additional coverage to help keep pace with building costs, code upgrades, and inflation.
  • Ask how roof type, siding, vents, access, slope, and distance to fire protection affect your policy.

Know your Colorado consumer tools

Colorado requires property insurers to give applicants and policyholders plain-language notice about wildfire risk scores or classifications and about any available mitigation discounts. If you have a question or a complaint, start with the Division of Insurance.

Some insurers also recognize independent mitigation designations, such as IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home. That is not a substitute for talking with your own carrier.

Sources: Colorado Division of Insurance. This section is general consumer information, not insurance, legal, or financial advice.

Who to call locally

Find local help

Start with official agencies and your fire district. Confirm which district serves your address — mountain roads often sit near a boundary. Business listings below are empty on purpose; this is a sample layout for future local sponsors, not a live directory.

Official fire districts and agencies

Conifer Fire Department

Official site for the unified Inter-Canyon and North Fork Fire Protection Districts, which now operate as Conifer Fire Department.

Mitigation, defensible space, and chipping

Example sponsor spot

Your business here

Defensible-space or mitigation crew. No company is listed on this sample.

Example sponsor spot

Your business here

Chipping or slash-removal service.

Example sponsor spot

Your business here

Forestry or fuels-reduction contractor.

Home hardening: vents, gutter guards, and materials

Example sponsor spot

Your business here

Ember-resistant vents and 1/8-inch metal mesh screening.

Example sponsor spot

Your business here

Noncombustible gutters and gutter guards.

Example sponsor spot

Your business here

Class A roofing or other home-hardening work.

Generators, water tanks, and insurance

Example sponsor spot

Your business here

Generator dealer or installer.

Example sponsor spot

Your business here

Water-tank or cistern supplier.

Example sponsor spot

Your business here

Local insurance agent. No agency is named on this sample.