GNA Spotlight, Colorado, October 2024
The July 2024 Wellington Fire, near Breckenridge, Colorado, was quickly contained thanks to prior Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) fuel reduction efforts by the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) in partnership with the White River National Forest, Summit County Open Space, and Town of Breckenridge, highlighting the importance of such mitigation work in preventing wildfire spread.
On July 7, 2024, a wildfire ignited just one-eighth of a mile from homes in Breckenridge, Colorado, but a recently completed GNA landscape-level fuel break helped local crews quickly contain the fire.
The Wellington Fuels Reduction Project was a GNA project led by the CSFS in collaboration with the White River National Forest, Summit County Open Space, and the Town of Breckenridge, focused on protecting communities and watersheds. Ninety-four acres in the wildland-urban interface were treated, removing hazardous fuels like beetle-killed lodgepole pine through thinning and clear-cutting to safeguard the nearby 282-home Wellington Neighborhood, critical infrastructure, and Colorado River Basin. The wildfire started from an abandoned campfire in a completed unit of the project amid dry conditions with 10-20 mph winds and 16% humidity. Thanks to the GNA fuels reduction effort, completed 18 months prior, local fire crews quickly contained the fire to less than a quarter-acre despite challenging weather and terrain conditions. This success underscores the value of proactive fuel reduction in mitigating wildfire risks, with funding provided by the White River National Forest, Summit County's Strong Future Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and Denver Water.
For more information, see this article and success story or contact CSFS GNA Program Specialist Everitt Merritt at everitt.merritt@colostate.edu.
Photo credit: Bill Wolf, CSFS