JACKSON, Wyo. — On Monday, March 10, the Town of Jackson (TOJ) announced that during a March 3 Town Council and Board of County Commissioners joint meeting the two bodies endorsed the 2024 Community Wildfire Protect Plan (CWPP) presented by Jackson Hole Fire/EMS (JHF/EMS).
According to the TOJ, the CWPP is a community-wide planning document that acts as a guide to help Teton County take proactive measures to reduce wildfire intensity, enhance emergency response and community resiliency and prepare for the next wildfire event.
The plan uses a scientific and engineer-based assessment of wildfire threat to Teton County, TOJ writes. CWPP offers guidance on how to mitigate risks by identifying and monitoring hazards, in addition to prioritizing and implementing risk reduction activities such as hardening structures, creating defensible space and reducing fuels on adjacent public lands.
Teton County is one of the highest ranked counties in Wyoming in its susceptibility to wildfires. Since the last CWPP was written in 2014, TOJ confirms wildfire has affected over 130,000 acres of Teton County. Updates to the plan include utilizing technology and artificial intelligence to analyze wildfire risk and quickly discover fires within the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) boundary.
“One important recommendation in the CWPP we should focus on is critical infrastructure hardening,” said Jackson Hole Fire/EMS Fire Marshal Raymond Lane in the press release. “Losing a cell tower, radio tower or a major evacuation route in the early stages of a wildfire event can have a negative, cascading effect on our response.”
Goals of the CWPP outlined by the project team include:
- Minimize the wildfire threat to life safety
- Reduce the wildfire threat to values at risk (residential structures, critical infrastructure, businesses, natural environment, historic and cultural resources)
- Set priorities to mitigate risks and hazards identified
- Enhance accountability, foster awareness and increase efficiency in implementing action
With endorsement of the CWPP by elected bodies, State Forester Kelly Norris and Teton County Fire Warden JHF/EMS Fire Chief Mike Moyer, Teton County and the TOJ remain eligible for Wyoming State Forestry Grants and Federal Funding related to wildfire mitigation.
“We are grateful to our partnering agencies within Teton County and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem who have taken time to support our common goal of creating a wildfire adapted community,” said Lane in his statement.
TOJ reminds community members that everyone can do their part to improve the community’s fire adaptability by managing fuels (flammable vegetation and construction) around homes. For more information on creating defensible space and homeowner education related to wildfire mitigation, refer to Section 6 of the plan or visit Teton County’s wildfire mitigation page.
Review the Community Wildfire Protect Plan here. Hard copies of the plan are available for review at Jackson Hole Fire/EMS Station 1 (40 E Pearl Street), the Teton County Library in Jackson, Town Hall, Teton County Administration Building, Jackson Hole Senior Center and Teton County/Jackson Parks and Recreation Center.
For questions related to the CWPP, community members can contact the Jackson Hole Fire/EMS Prevention Office by calling 307-733-4732 or emailing Fire Marshal Raymond Lane at rlane@tetoncountywy.gov or Wildfire Mitigation Coordinator Bobbi Clauson at bclauson@tetoncountywy.gov.
