Last month, the Aspen Fire Protection District launched a new program to assess dangers in the upper valley.
Aspen firefighters are completing curbside assessments of every property in the wildland-urban interface, those places where human development is close to wild lands. Fire chief Rick Balentine says that’s about 90 percent of the Aspen Fire District.
The assessments are part of the Wildfire Adapted Communities program. Each property will be given a general wildfire risk score, and officials will then create public maps showing fire danger.
Balentine says he hopes the project encourages residents to take proactive steps to protect from wildfire and that because many wildfires spread from home-to-home, it’s important that neighbors work together to minimize risks.
Maps and initial evaluations could be completed by the end of the summer.
