The Wildland Urban Interface, Where the Wilderness Meets Civilization

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6min 28sec

This year’s wildfire season continues with serious and devastating impacts across the state. Still, officials point to mitigation as helping preserve homes in neighborhoods like Black Forest’s Cathedral Pines. Governor John Hickenlooper’s Task Force on Wildfire Insurance and Forest Health is currently drafting recommendations that might help curb future destruction in the wildland urban interface. Options they’re considering include stricter building codes, or possibly a fee homeowners in some areas might pay to help offset firefighting costs. A report from the task force is expected by the end of summer.

As we re-visit Flash Point: Living with Wildfire, KRCC’s Andrea Chalfin has this piece in search of a larger perspective on the wildland urban interface in Colorado Springs, where nearly a quarter of the city’s population lives.

Since this piece aired in April, Fire Chief Rich Brown has retired.

• Main Flash Point: Living with Wildfire page with an interactive timeline.

• A Disaster Is A Disaster: The Nature Of Emergency Management• Waldo Canyon Fire Victims: Recovering Without Rebuilding• The Wildland Urban Interface: Where the Wilderness Meets Civilization• The Double Bind: Forest Treatment In The Age of Megafires• Wildfires and Climate Change Perception