Across the West, as suburban sprawl, working lands and wilderness collide, many communities now have Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs). The 2003 Healthy Forest Restoration Act encouraged these plans in order for local jurisdictions to be eligible for wildfire mitigation funding and some recovery funds. Developing and updating a CWPP requires residents, local agencies and fire professionals to unite in an effort to assess and mitigate the dangerous impacts of wildfires. But how can landowners plug into these plans and the processes that keep them up to date and implement them? 

Understand your risk

For new landowners, “Step one. Know your risk,” says Jonathan Bruno, a former wildland firefighter and CEO of Coalitions and Collaboratives, a Colorado-based organization that works to train and equip communities and organizations across the country for wildfire readiness. For Bruno, that starts with a visit to wildfirerisk.org, a U.S. Forest Service mapping tool that will give you a clear picture of your property’s wildfire risk. “Next steps, before you call anyone, is to review [the CWPP] for your community,” says Bruno. “The CWPP provides specific details on who is doing what, [and] lists the contacts and the important agencies that are doing the work.” 

A few regions of the West don’t have CWPPs (coverage is sparse in Oklahoma, for example). If you’re in one of those, contact your local fire protection district. “Be persistent,” says Bruno. “The fire chief is a volunteer. He may also be the fire marshal and run a local business. It’s not that he doesn’t care, it’s just that he’s really busy.  

Plug into the CWPP

Because CWPPs are usually created at the county or watershed scale, how your property intersects with the applicable CWPP will vary based on its size and location. Pay attention to the wildland-urban interface (WUI) boundary on maps in the CWPP. Property within the WUI may be subject to additional requirements and restrictions designed to protect the community from wildfires, such as building codes, landscaping regulations and defensible space requirements, and may also be eligible for resources to make upgrades to landscaping or building materials not available outside the WUI. 

“CWPPs, by statute, are required to list specific actionable items for reducing vulnerabilities to your personal property,” says Bruno. “Start where you care and where your investment is first,” says Bruno. “Look at what you’ve done to prepare. Then ask questions about what your neighbors might need help with.”