Living with wildfire in Montrose County, Colorado: 2023 Data report

During 2022–2024, the Wildfire Research (WiRē) Center partnered with the West Region Wildfire Council (WRWC) to learn more about parcel-level wildfire risk in Montrose County, Colorado. This research project was part of a larger, sustained collaboration between WiRē and the WRWC, moving the focus from areas typically characterized as fire-prone due to heavily treed and steep topography, into an area with relatively gentle topography and lighter fuels. The study area borders and includes northern portions of Ouray County that fall within the service area of Montrose County Fire Protection District. The area was of particular interest to the WRWC because it lacks some of the social infrastructure typically leveraged to build community relationships, such as Homeowners Associations, and the WRWC sought to build understanding in order to provide a foundation to foster stronger ties to pursue wildfire risk reduction. The study also presented an opportunity to help assess interest in the WRWC’s cost share program intended to facilitate risk mitigation action on private properties.