Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) Pilot Projects Underway in Red Feather Lakes Area
The Larimer County Conservation Corps (LCCC) Strike Team has been hard at work creating defensible space within home ignition zones (HIZ) on a few properties in each of the four communities within the Red Feather Lakes Area Wildfire Defense Project. These HIZ pilot projects will help us work out any issues before the program is expanded to cover the greater Red Feather Lakes area. Pilot properties were selected based on readiness, need, or those not physically able to complete the work. One such property belonged to a woman undergoing cancer treatment, and the HIZ work both made her home safer and generated enough firewood to supply the resident and a few of her neighbors. So far, HIZ pilot properties have been completed in Glacier View, Cherokee Meadows, and Crystal Lakes.
Once the pilot program is complete, a larger program will be rolled out to assist up to 400 homes. As a requirement of receiving assistance through the larger program, homeowners in the project communities must first have a completed HIZ assessment. Homeowners interested in participating should reach out to their local fire district to schedule an assessment, which will be required for application when the program goes live. Properties will then be chosen based on risk, need, continuity between neighbors, and other factors.
Local Communities in the Project Area:
About Home Ignition Zones & Defensible Space
Did you know? More than half of Colorado residents live in the wildland-urban interface and are at some risk of being affected by wildfire.
A main outcome of the Red Feather Lakes Area Wildfire Defense Project Reduction of risk to properties through the performance of property assessments and subsequent defensible space treatments, and a robust community understanding of home ignition zone concepts and best practices through training and educational outreach. Improved community resilience through the building of Wildfire Partners Program ambassador teams and community social capital.
The Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) is the home and the area around the home (or structure). The HIZ takes into account both the potential of the structure to ignite and the quality of defensible space surrounding it.
Defensible space is the area around a home or other structure that has been modified to reduce fire hazards. In this area, natural and manmade fuels are treated, cleared or reduced to slow the spread of wildfire (Colorado State Forest Service).
By establishing defensible space, you can reduce the likelihood of your home igniting by direct contact with flame or by exposure to the radiant heat of a fire. It also helps limit local production of embers and reduces the chance a structure fire will spread to neighboring homes or surrounding vegetation.