{"id":4591,"date":"2026-09-03T20:31:55","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T20:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpoadurango.com\/?page_id=4591"},"modified":"2026-09-03T23:00:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T23:00:39","slug":"fire-preparedness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rpoadurango.com\/?page_id=4591","title":{"rendered":"Fire Preparedness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Ranch is in an area of high risk for wild fire. See the Colorado State Forest Service Risk Viewer Map<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Missionary Ridge Fire<\/a> in 2002, the 416 Fire<\/a> in 2018 and the Elkhorn Fire<\/a> in 2025 are recent examples of fires that had direct impact on the Ranch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you can do now to prepare for the next wild fire<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An official website of the United States government, Ready.gov<\/a> provides comprehensive steps on home hardening, creating defensible space, and evacuation planning. Most of these steps are best done well before a wild fire threatens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Colorado State Forest Service Home Ignition Zone Checklist<\/a> provides practical steps to increase the likelihood your home survives a wildfire by addressing the home itself and the area around it. This will minimize the ability of your home to ignite during a wildfire, in part by reducing or eliminating nearby fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All owners and residents are encouraged to view these websites and follow their recommendations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to our arid climate and drought conditions, La Plata County frequently imposes fires restrictions when conditions warrant. These fire restriction<\/a>s are in effect now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All owners and residents are encouraged stay informed and comply with fire restrictions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ranch Emergency Exit Map<\/a> shows the vehicle emergency evacuation route that will be used in the unlikely event that the Cottonwood Creek Road exit onto Highway 550 becomes impassible. The emergency exit gate has locks that will be opened by Durango Fire and Rescue, by a Ranch Firewise Committee member or by a RPOA Board of Directors member in case of emergency. If you want to have the combination to the gate lock for your own evacuation plan, contact infoservices@rpoadurango.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All owners and residents are encouraged familiarize themselves with the route by actually walking it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Plata County has an emergency notification system called LPC Alerts! (commonly referred to as \u201cReverse 9-1-1\u201d and formerly called CodeRED) that includes cell phones, texting, and e-mail. You can register up to five phone numbers with your physical street address, ensuring that you get emergency notifications even when you\u2019re not at home or if you don\u2019t have a land line. Register at https:\/\/www.lpcgov.org\/departments\/emergency_management\/lpc_alerts.php<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All owners and residents are encouraged to register with LPC Alerts!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the ROPA has done to prepare for the next wild fire<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2017 the RPOA arranged for a wild fire risk assessment of the Ranch with FireWise of Southwest Colorado (now called Wildfire Adapted Partnership<\/a>) and Durango Fire Protection District.\u00a0The Ranch Community Wild Fire Risk Assessment <\/a>suggested 10 specific actions to reduce wild fire vulnerability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ranch Firewise Committee has worked with the RPOA Board of Directors and homeowners to complete the 10 specific actions in the assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ranch Wild Fire Risk Assessment Actions Progress Report June 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ranch Wild Fire Action Plan 2025 to 2027<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Colorado State Forest Service Home Ignition Zone Guide<\/a> was used to reduce wild fire vulnerability in the RPOA common property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ranch completed the Firewise USA program\u2019s annual requirements for 2025 and is participating to remain in good standing throughout 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ranch Firewise USA Certificate for 2025<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firewise USA <\/a>is a national recognition program that provides instructional resources to inform people how to adapt to living with wildfire and encourages neighbors to work together and take action to reduce their wildfire risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ranch is in an area of high risk for wild fire. See the Colorado State Forest Service Risk Viewer Map. The Missionary Ridge Fire in 2002, the 416 Fire in 2018 and the Elkhorn Fire in 2025 are recent examples of fires that had direct impact on the Ranch. What you can do now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4591","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpoadurango.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpoadurango.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpoadurango.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpoadurango.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpoadurango.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4591"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/rpoadurango.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4618,"href":"https:\/\/rpoadurango.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4591\/revisions\/4618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpoadurango.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}