Eagle County and Basalt outline $2M wildfire strategy and push for unified WUI code

Basalt hosted a joint work session with the Eagle County Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 13 during which Eagle County emergency management director Bur Baron described a countywide push to reduce wildfire risk through landscape projects, homeowner assistance and strengthened response capacity. Baron said the county’s 2026 program would total about $2 million, with roughly $600,000 for on‑the‑ground landscape projects and about $860,000 to support response and coordination.

The presentation framed the county’s work around three pillars: creating wildfire‑resilient landscapes (fuel reduction and prescribed fire), making communities fire‑adapted (home hardening and defensible‑space cost‑share) and ensuring safe, effective multi‑agency response. "When the commissioners came to our team and said, ‘Hey, this is our community's priority. How can we invest as a county in reducing wildfire risk?'" Baron said, summarizing the impetus for expanded programming.

County staff said more than 8,000 acres of fuels projects have been completed in recent years and described programs to support homeowners directly. A county cost‑share program will pair 50/50 with homeowners who complete home‑hardening work; county speakers reported about $260,000 in cost‑share grants awarded in the Roaring Fork Valley in the most recent period. Officials also emphasized community chipping and slash‑removal pilots and said they plan to extend a curbside chipping service to the Roaring Fork side in early June.

The briefing also covered improvements to warning and evacuation systems. Baron outlined a partnership with Reachwell to unify emergency alerts across Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin counties and explained use of Genesis EVAC (Genesis Protect) to pre‑plan evacuation zones. "We can reach people in the way they've said is best for them, in 130‑plus languages," he said, describing the outreach functionality built into the alert platform.

Forest Service representatives at the meeting confirmed continued emphasis on prescribed burning and NEPA planning to enable larger landscape‑scale fuels reduction. Jennifer Schuler of the U.S. Forest Service noted the agency is pursuing broader environmental analyses to scale multi‑year treatments and NEPA reviews.

Basalt council members welcomed the county’s commitment and asked staff to move quickly on a local curbside chipping program. County staff said contractors are already being vetted and that early June is the target for a pilot pickup schedule. The county also urged work toward a more consistent WUI code across neighboring jurisdictions; staff noted a state‑level mandate requires local WUI codes meet new standards by a recent deadline, and county and municipal lawyers are coordinating text and timing.

What’s next: county staff said they will return to the group with refined WUI code language, and Basalt staff indicated council review and a local ordinance will follow as part of ongoing coordination.