FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A new analysis from the Colorado State Forest Service shows that just under half of Colorado’s population, about 2.5 million people, lives in the wildland-urban interface. Of these residents, more than 1 million live in areas with moderate to very high risk of wildfire.
“The Colorado Wildfire Risk Assessment is a nation-leading analysis that gives us important information as Colorado and other Western states face the reality of a year-long wildfire season,” said Governor Polis. “This update is a reminder for everyone to keep up with wildfire mitigation efforts to help keep your homes and communities safe.”
This analysis considers the wildland-urban interface (WUI) as the area where human development (roads, buildings and neighborhoods) is built close to, or within, natural terrain and flammable vegetation and is at risk of wildfire. New data reveal that the WUI in Colorado consists of about 4.5 million acres, or about 45 times the size of the City of Denver, and contains more than 1 million buildings.