With more than half of the state’s population now living in or near areas that are prone to wildland fire, public and private organizations across the state are teaming up as a part of Wildfire Community Preparedness Day Saturday and Wildfire Awareness month to educate and help Colorado residents to prepare for the growing threats created by wildfires. ### According to the...
Senate Bill 19-107: Broadband Infrastructure Installation ### SB19-107, sponsored by Sen. Kerry Donovan (D-Vail) and Sen. Dylan Roberts (D-Avon), authorizes an electric utility that has an electric easement on real property or a commercial broadband supplier designated by the electric utility to act on the electric utility's behalf, after having provided advanced notice to the owner of the real property and to any...
By: Elizabeth Peetz, Vice President of Government Affairs, Colorado Association of REALTORS® ### As we enter the last weeks of April, the Legislature is starting to round the corner heading into the final stretch as we race to May 3rd. The legislature just took up the state budget pursuant to our constitutional requirement to pass a balanced budget in Colorado. So while...
Update: House Bill 19-1006: Wildfire Mitigation Wildland-Urban Interface Areas HB19-1006, sponsored by Rep. Barbara McLachlan (D-Durango), Rep. Terri Carver (R-Colorado Springs) and Sen. Rhonda Fields (D-Aurora), creates a state grant program to fund proactive forest management and fuel reduction projects to reduce the impacts of wildfires to life, property and critical infrastructure. This is one of the Wildfire Matters Review Committee bills...
House Bill 19-1075: Tax Credit Employer-assisted Housing Pilot Program HB19-1075, sponsored by Representative James Wilson (R-Salida), creates a pilot program to increase employer-assisted housing projects in rural areas of the state from 2019 to 2023 tax years. It creates a state income tax credit to any taxpayer that donates to a state housing authority, Colorado and Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), a...
Lately, it feels like we’re hearing about wildfires erupting in the western United States more often. But how have wildfire occurrences changed over the decades? Researchers with the NASA-funded Rehabilitation Capability Convergence for Ecosystem Recovery (RECOVER) have analyzed more than 40,000 fires from Colorado to California between 1950 to 2017 to learn how wildfire frequency, size, location, and a few other traits have...
As of 2017, approximately 2.9 million people live in Colorado’s wildland-urban interface (WUI) – the area where human improvements are built close to, or within, natural terrain and flammable vegetation – compared to 2 million people just five years earlier. The new figure represents approximately half of the state’s total population. To read this article in full, please visit the Colorado...
REALTORS® JOIN FORCES WITH INSURANCE AND WILDFIRE SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS TO OFFER PREPAREDNESS GUIDE FOR RESIDENTS ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Sept. 25, 2018 – With one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in state history burning homes and endangering communities, the Colorado Association of REALTORS® (CAR) has teamed up with the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA) and other state wildfire prevention and...
Across the country, wildfires have caused devastation and distress for years. In addition to the destruction they bring upon communities, fires can cost millions in restoration over the course of many years. Headwaters Economics recently published a report that analyzed the cost of several fires across the country. The report looked at 8 major wildfires in four states through 2016, including...
In the face of long-term, ongoing wildfire risks, the Colorado Association of REALTORS® (CAR) launched Project Wildfire, an education program designed to help reduce and/or prevent the destruction of land and property, injuries, and loss of life by raising awareness of and access to wildfire mitigation resources. With 25,000-plus REALTOR® members spread across the state, CAR and its members are...