Nearly half of Coloradans living at risk of wildfires

Colorado’s population continues to grow year after year, but so is the number of people living in areas at risk of being affected by wildfires.

In Teller County, the expansive forests are a huge draw to people looking to get away from it all, but that same picturesque landscape that earns Woodland Park its name is the same scenery that can cause natural disasters like this one.

New data from the Colorado Wildfire Risk Assessment says from 2012 to 2017, the number of people in wildfire-risk areas increased by nearly 50 percent.

Though people who already live there, like Deb Ashley, know it comes with the territory.

“It’s always on the back of my mind, especially because I’m on the edge of the forest,” she said.

As of 2017, approximately 2.9 million people live in Colorado’s wildland-urban interface (WUI) – the area where human improvements are built close to, or within, natural terrain and flammable vegetation – compared to 2 million people just five years earlier. The new figure represents approximately half of the state’s total population.

To access CO-WRAP and their data, click here.