8 JULY 30-AUGUST 5, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Call Elaine Lustig, PhD .......................................................... at 303-369-7770 Needing Your Emotional ....... Animal W/ You? For eligible people who need their emotional support animal to accompany them at/or away from home, I am available to provide the documentation and counseling. CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED agencies will look like in another decade.” The state has taken some matters into its own hands. Colorado is using building regulations as a new line of defense against wildfi res. In 2023, legislators established the Colorado Wildfi re Resiliency Code Board to create building codes that make homes and neighborhoods more resilient to wildfi res. The codes went into full effect on July 1 of this year. “If implemented correctly, they should help reduce the vulnerability of homes to fi re. But that applies to new construction,” Iglesias explains. “So we still have a legacy of homes that we built decades ago.” Morgan says all of the puzzle pieces — fi re response, forest health and resilient commu- nities — must come together into a cohesive strategy to make a difference. “There’s not a silver bullet to this,” he says. “It has taken us 50-plus years to get into this mess, and it will take us 50-plus years to get out of it.” The Next 150 Years The effects of wildfi res extend far beyond the scorch. Smoke from the fi res harms air qual- ity across the state and beyond. Throughout July, Denver has repeatedly ranked as hav- ing the worst air quality of any U.S. city and among the top 10 worst globally, according to tracking by IQAir. Even after the fi res are extinguished, they leave signifi cant impacts on the water sup- ply, Stevens-Rumann notes. Forests protect water quality for downstream communities and prevent snowpack from melting too early in the season. Wildfi res contaminate the water supply, and denuded slopes can lead to hazardous fl ooding. Around 80% of the water Coloradans drink comes from the forested mountains. In addition, the massive burn scars harm Colorado’s recreation industry. The Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fi res burned hundreds of thousands of acres in and around Rocky Mountain National Park and the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, destroying trails, campgrounds and views. Over fi ve years later, the burn areas continue to experience signifi cant declines in visitation, according to new research reported by Colorado Newsline. Outdoor recreation contributes $18.1 billion to Col- orado’s economy, accounting for 3.3% of overall economic activity. “Everyone in Colorado is affected by wildfi res,” Stevens-Rumann says. Experts are pushing for federal invest- ments and state-level policy changes, but to protect Colorado, they say change starts on the individual level. As the vast majority of wildfi res are hu- man-caused, Morgan urges residents to be cautious to prevent ignitions. And if fi res do start, preparing homes and surrounding properties can reduce damage and slow the spread. “We should start thinking about not if a fi re comes to our door, but when, if you live out near the woods,” Stevens-Rumann adds. “That’s a really hard thing to internalize ... but that is the reality.” Though the future can seem bleak through the haze, Iglesias says she is opti- mistic. Community awareness is growing, new technology is emerging, and many of the nation’s best minds are on the case. “We have unprecedented problems, but also unprecedented potential,” Iglesias says. “We can change how fi re behaves by chang- ing our behavior.” Email the author at hannah.metzger@westword. com. News continued from page 7 The Lee fi re in Rio Blanco County on August 8, 2025 — the fi fth largest wildfi re in state history. KYLE MILLER/INCIWEB
