Wildfire Mitigation & Property Safety Resources
Accurate, practical guidance for Colorado’s Western Slope — helping property owners protect their land, homes, and access routes.
Why Wildfire Mitigation Matters
Colorado’s Western Slope is experiencing longer fire seasons, hotter summers, and more extreme wildfire behavior. Insurance carriers are increasingly requiring verified defensible space and fuel reduction around homes.
Understanding these risks is the first step toward protecting your property, maintaining insurability, and ensuring safe access routes for you and emergency responders.
Understanding Home Ignition Zones & Defensible Space
The Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) is the entire 0–200 feet around a structure where conditions determine whether a home ignites during a wildfire. HIZ includes the home itself (roof, vents, gutters, siding, decks) as well as all surrounding fuels.
Defensible space is the work performed within the HIZ—removing hazards, reducing vegetation, increasing spacing, and eliminating ladder fuels to reduce the chance of ignition from embers, radiant heat, or direct flame contact.
• HIZ = the environment that determines ignition
• Defensible Space = the actions taken to reduce that ignition risk
Key Concepts:
• Most homes ignite from embers, not direct flames
• Proper HIZ management dramatically improves survivability
• Defensible space slows fire spread and reduces flame length
• Colorado follows a 3-zone defensible space model:
- Zone 0: 0–5 ft non-combustible zone
- Zone 1: 5–30 ft reduced vegetation
- Zone 2: 30–100 ft thinning + ladder fuel removal
• Insurers are increasingly requiring mitigation documentation
Colorado House Bill 23-1182 (HB1182)
Colorado is developing statewide wildfire-resistant building and defensible space standards.
HB1182 establishes statewide standards for wildfire-resilient building practices, defensible space expectations, and clearer insurance communication for homeowners living in high-risk areas.
The goal of the bill is to reduce structure loss during wildfires through improved home-hardening, vegetation management, and transparent insurance requirements.
For homeowners, this means:
• Building materials and construction standards will become more fire-resistant
• Defensible space and mitigation documentation may be required for insurance
• Insurers must provide clearer explanations of wildfire-related decisions
• Properties with proper mitigation will have improved insurability
Protect Your Home & Property with Professional Mitigation
Call or Text Parker Specialized LLC
970-987-6027
970-856-4484