Larimer County: Preparedness

Larimer County prides itself on being a good steward of taxpayer dollars, even as rapidly rising costs and increased demand put pressure on the budget. We’ve stretched every penny, made every cut, and yet we are one natural disaster away from depleting our $23.3 million reserve fund.

"The problem is we’re going to see a switch, flip, and we’re not going to know when that day is but… the day before we’re going to be able to keep them small, and then the next day it’s going to be like ‘wow’ and we cannot catch this one - and it’s coming if these conditions persist."
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Justin Whitesell, Emergency Services Director, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office speaking about wildfire danger at the Larimer County BOCC Work Session 3-30-26

Response & Recovery

Without new revenue wildfire and natural disaster response & recovery services will be directly impacted, including proactive management and effective response capabilities.

The 2013 Flood had $109.9 million in expenses and $97.1 million in reimbursements from the federal and state governments
The Cameron Peak fire season cost the County $19 million with $14 million reimbursed by federal (FEMA ~75%) and State of Colorado (~13%) recovery funds.
Emergency response and recovery efforts meet the challenge but staff is stretched thin and we need to better prepare for the future.
Recently FEMA has refused to reimburse local Colorado governments for disaster costs - and even in the best of circumstances FEMA often takes several months or years to provide reimbursements.
Impacts to drinking water occurred after the fact - we need to be proactive to meet resident demand and expectations.

Firefighter in yellow gear and red helmet sprays water on smoldering forest ground.

Small stream flowing through green grass and bushes near red rocky cliffs under a cloudy sky.

Prevention, Mitigation & Cost Savings

Every $1 invested in forest restoration in a high value/risk watershed can provide up to $7 dollars of return/benefits.
The highest risk portion of the Big Thompson watershed, which serves the vast majority of our residents including Ft. Collins and Loveland, is estimated to need at least $35 million to meaningfully reduce the wildfire risk to drinking water for residents.
Healthy forest management such as hiring firefighters, mitigating pine beetle outbreaks, and response to massive die-offs to reduce wildfire fuel load, impact the safety and well being of residents, neighborhoods, and entire communities, across the County. An additional $1.7 million is needed annually to staff emergency preparedness at needed levels.
The Marshall Fire defined the modern-day risk some communities are exposed to and Larimer County needs to be prepared to respond to these incidents.
The budget strain we face vs the risks we are exposed to are putting our resources and our values to the test.

Visit the Larimer County Sheriff’s Emergency Services and Fire Rescue for more information about what is currently being done to prepare, prevent, and respond to wildfires.

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Natural Disaster Preparedness

Response & Recovery

Prevention, Mitigation & Cost Savings