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Aurora fire officials outline wildfire risks, request resources and urge homeowner mitigation
Summary
Aurora Fire Department staff briefed the Public Safety Committee on wildfire preparedness, response and recovery, described the city's fire-ban stages and metrics, said grants were pending, and recommended stronger community mitigation and interagency coordination.
Aurora Fire Department leaders told the Public Safety Committee that the city has a layered approach to wildland fire risk—mitigation, response and recovery—and urged more local mitigation and resources to keep fires small and protect homes.
Division Chief Steve Wright and Assistant Chief Hunter Hackbarth presented the department's 2025 wildland update, explaining how the city decides on fire bans, how the department deploys its wildland team, and what recovery looks like after a large incident. "Part of what goes into that are three metrics that gauge the fuel moisture in a certain square feet and then the energy released by that fuel," Hunter Hackbarth said, adding that the department receives data from CU Boulder meteorology scientists to help assess those metrics.
Fire staff described a three-stage Aurora fire-ban model. Stage 1 is effectively the baseline (fireworks are illegal except for the municipal window June 15July 5). Stage 2 limits model rockets, bonfires and recreational fires. Stage…
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