If you feel that your home in the woods isn't quite as safe anymore, you are not alone. The conditions that enable large wildfires are present now more than ever before. These conditions include: hot, dry weather; lots of cheatgrass and weeds; and more trees than the land has seen in hundreds of years. You don't have to be a victim! You can make positive changes to your home and property that will benefit you and the entire community. Many of your neighbors already have.

Read the Hotchkiss Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Look over this site to find out how to:
  • Click Here to read a few simple Tips of the Week that can help you Protect Your Home from Wildfire.NEW
  • Thin some of the dangerous trees away from your house. Learn which trees are dangerous and which are safe and how you can get a cost-share grant from the Fire District for doing a Defensible Space Project.
  • Click Here to see a video of Curtis Bower Foresty Equipment doing fuel reduction work.
  • Learn about our Pinyon/Juniper Forest for example, did you know that cedar trees (Utah Juniper) don't take up moisture from summer rains? Or that the ones near your home may be 300 to 800 years old?
  • Learn why we are having Big Fires Now. This fascinating website from Northern Arizona University has much information about the Colorado Plateau
  • Build a new home that is safe for your family and our firefighters. Here are some tips, and links to some information on the web.
  • Look up your home on our MAP to see if we've rated it for wildfire danger. Here are some guidelines on how you can reduce your score.

A few tips from the Firewise.org site along with some other resources:

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