Lakewood and Jefferson County officials outline expanded wildfire planning, mitigation and community outreach

City and county officials, fire chiefs and parks staff told the Lakewood City Council on Monday that wildfire risk across western Jefferson County has expanded into more urban corridors and that cross-jurisdictional collaboration is central to preparedness and response.

"Wildfire threat is real," Jefferson County Commissioner Leslie Dahlkemper said. "We know it's not a matter of if, but when." She and county staff outlined a multi-pronged approach that includes updated mapping and planning, fuels reduction, and public education.

The county recently completed an updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan, Brian Keating, Jefferson County fire management officer, told the council. "By Colorado state statute, the sheriff is the fire warden for the county," Keating said, and the sheriff's office leads suppression for unincorporated lands and coordinates evacuations and large-incident delegations of authority.

Keating said the county's CWPP expanded the area it classifies as wildland-urban interface (WUI) from about 76% of the county in the prior plan to roughly 91% in the 2024 update. The update included new hazard modeling and identified priority landscapes and neighborhoods for mitigation work, he said, and the county is building evacuation annexes and a consolidated public…