Las Animas County commissioners juggle fire risk, drought and road needs
Fire restrictions, countywide drought and million-dollar road work are colliding in Las Animas County as commissioners head into summer with little margin for error.
Las Animas County is heading into summer with Stage II fire restrictions already in place, a countywide drought and road work that depends on outside money, local cash and in-kind labor to keep moving.
At the Las Animas County Board of County Commissioners’ May 5 meeting in Trinidad, the county’s short-term priorities reflected the strain facing a sparsely populated southeastern Colorado county founded in 1866 and home to just under 15,000 people. Fire readiness, water stress and basic transportation all landed on the same ledger at the same time, leaving commissioners to balance emergency needs with the ordinary work of keeping roads open and rural communities connected.
The drought picture is especially sharp. Drought.gov said 100% of Las Animas County’s population was affected by drought, and that the county logged its driest March on record over the past 132 years. It was also the county’s fourth driest January-through-March stretch in that same record. The impacts reach deep into the local agricultural economy, with estimates showing 17,065 acres of hay, 6,793 acres of wheat, 790 acres of haylage, 28,178 head of cattle and 96 sheep in drought conditions.
Road work has provided some relief, but it also shows how dependent the county is on patchwork financing. Las Animas County recently completed asphalt work on County Road 13.0 South and County Road 31.9 in Wet Canyon using a $1,000,000 Colorado Department of Local Affairs Energy Impact Assistance Fund grant, $1,000,000 in county cash and $50,000 in in-kind Road and Bridge Department work. The paving underscores how much of the county’s road program relies on external grants and internal cost-sharing to reach even basic projects.
Fire danger has already proved that the season is not theoretical. The Schwachheim Fire ignited April 12 southeast of Trinidad in the Lake Dorothey State Wildlife Area, grew to 1,003 acres with no containment by April 14, and reached 1,582 acres and full containment by April 24. More than 100 personnel were assigned during the response, and Gov. Jared Polis issued a disaster declaration. The blaze also raised concern for a watershed used by Raton, New Mexico, showing that fire risk in Las Animas County does not stop at the Colorado-New Mexico border.
Statewide conditions are only adding pressure. On May 1, Colorado officials said 97% of the state was already in moderate to severe or worse drought and 95% was expected to face drought conditions in June and July. For Las Animas County, that means commissioners are trying to keep roads passable, protect ranching and farm operations, and stay ahead of fire danger at the same time, with little cushion if summer weather turns worse.
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