Confluence: After the Flames — Coping with NoCo’s increasing wildfire problem

LOVELAND — Northern Colorado isn’t just dealing with a lack of water. The region is also grappling with the worsening phenomena of annual summer wildfires. 

Those fires result in early snow melt, water quality issues and increased flooding, with lower income areas facing the brunt of the problem, Colorado Stormwater Center education and outreach manager Jessica Thrasher said during a panel discussion Thursday in Loveland at BizWest’s annual Confluence water conference. 

Some parts of the state, namely Northern Colorado, are in a better position to mitigate and remediate wildfires and their destruction, but in other areas, especially southern and western portions of the state, “just not the capacity to respond,” said Blake Osborn, Colorado State University water resources specialist. 

State leaders would be well served to focus on developing “more capacity and uniformity in their response,” he said. 

Boulder County Commissioner Matt Jones agreed and added that mitigation efforts should be prioritized.

Using a sports analogy, Jones said mitigation is like playing offense, while restoration is like defense. 

It’s about three times more expensive to restore areas impacted by fires than it is to mitigate against those fires, he said. 

Officials ought to focus on building partnerships with diverse representation, utilizing existing resources and breaking down the silos that keep individual stakeholders from collaborating, Thrasher said.

But even if these strategies are implemented, Northern Water project manager Jonathan Hernandez said officials will likely never be able to completely eliminate fires or their damage. 

“We’re doing what we can. Is it enough? I could say that more needs to be done.”

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