Douglas County hosts open house on wildfire and drought preparedness

Douglas County residents facing another hot, dry summer were urged to get ready before the next fire call, with sheriff’s officials keeping Stage 2 fire restrictions in place for unincorporated areas and county staff pushing home-hardening and evacuation planning. The county’s drought and wildfire preparedness open house was built around the practical steps that matter most when drought and wind push fire danger higher.

By order of Sheriff Darren Weekly, Ordinance No. O-012-004 limits open burning, fireworks, portable fireplaces and fire pits, and campfires in unincorporated Douglas County. That restriction is the clearest warning sign for households in wildland-urban interface neighborhoods and other areas where open space, steep terrain and newer development sit close together.

The county has spent years building the same message into its wildfire program. Its 2022 Community Wildfire Protection Plan update, dated Sept. 12, lists collaborators including Aurora Fire Rescue, Castle Rock Fire and Rescue, the Colorado State Forest Service, Douglas County Government, the Douglas County Sheriff Office of Emergency Management and Jackson 105 Fire Protection District. That plan sits alongside county wildfire mitigation pages under the Building Division, including guidance for protecting homes and property from wildfire.

Those pages also point residents to an interactive wildfire map designed to show potential risk in specific parts of the county. County messaging frames wildfire as an expected hazard, not a one-time emergency, with one public page bluntly stating, “Wildfires will happen. Together, we can lessen the risk and destruction.” The practical takeaway for residents is to know their neighborhood risk, clear defensible space around structures and make evacuation routes before smoke is in the area.

Douglas County also used public events to keep the issue in front of residents. The county promoted a Wildfire Mitigation Open House on May 9 at the Douglas County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., along with a Live Town Hall on wildfire risk set for May 20 at 6 p.m. A Wildfire Action Collaborative event page shows the county is still using multi-partner outreach rather than relying on a single announcement or seasonal reminder.

The timing is especially sharp in places such as Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock and other fast-growing parts of the Front Range where more homes sit near fuels that can carry a fire quickly. In Douglas County, the message from emergency officials is direct: reduce ignition sources now, harden homes before peak fire season and have a clear exit plan ready before conditions turn worse.