NEDERLAND — With summer of 2026 expected to bring oppressively dry conditions from the flats to the mountains, several Boulder County and local Nederland agencies addressed a crowd of Peak to Peak residents on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, about fire mitigation, home hardening and protection, and disaster planning.  

Despite snow still falling outside our windows, many municipalities throughout the state of Colorado have begun to implement restrictions on water usage and initiate response plans and infrastructure prioritization projects in order to circumvent the drought conditions arising from this winter’s lackluster precipitation.   

While Town of Nederland officials consider the area’s water supply and the potential to implement water restrictions, Boulder County agencies—including the Boulder Office of Disaster Management, Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, Boulder Watershed Collective, Wildfire Partners, Boulder County Community Forestry Sort Yard Staff, and the Nederland Fire Protection District—met with a small crowd of residents at the Backdoor Theater. 

Monika Weber, Coordinator with the Boulder Office of Disaster Management (ODM), delivered information on getting signed up for BOCO Alerts (BOCOAlert.org), in order to receive calls, texts, or emails from the County about wildfires in the area of the users’ registered addresses, up to five. 

“This is really critical to do whether you have a landline, a cellphone, or if you don’t have good coverage or reception where you live, because what we use across the County is what pushes to every other app; they all source information from [BOCO Alerts],” Weber explained to the crowd. 

Weber detailed the terminology used for the different notification types: alerts, warnings of activity, and orders—including evacuation orders—that impact area polygons, which are used in order to expedite warnings to those most vulnerable to danger. 

Monika Weber of the Boulder Office of Disaster Managment provided information on BOCO Alerts and other emergency alerting systems.

Photo by Christopher Kelley

Additionally, Weber provided information on alternative alerting systems, such as satellite phones, ham radio, and NOAA weather radio, as well as popular alerting apps, including ReachWell and Watch Duty.

Weber warned that such apps may not be ideal, resulting from possible delay in disseminating reporting from the County’s own dispatching services, which BOCO Alerts does automatically.

ODM also equipped a table of free information, including helpful hints on packing one’s Go Bag, and writing a Grab List. This latter involves the “7 Ps”: people, pets, papers, prescriptions, priceless items, personal computers, and plastic (credit cards).

There was also information on ensuring the safe evacuation of animals by preparing a specific grab list and go bag—with photo identification, vaccine records, medications, food, water bowl and water, and leash/harness—planning ahead with transportation, microchipping, and practicing an evacuation procedure with the pets or animals.  

Sergeant Jennifer Mendez from Boulder County Sheriff’s Office discussed their dispatching process during disasters and their use of strategic deployments regarding evacuation choke points.

Boulder County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Jennifer Mendez informed Nederland residents on their dispatching and notification strategies during emergencies.

Photo by Christopher Kelley

Mendez also mentioned the benefits of learning multiple routes for personal evacuation plans in the event that a preferred route is not ideal to drive in the middle of a disaster situation. 

In response to a question from the community, Mendez also spoke of utilizing boots on the ground to deliver door-to-door notifications and orders to residents in polygons impacted by disaster, a service used more often in the mountains and deployed during the Marshal Fire and the Lakeview Fire. 

Jim Webster, Program Manager with Wildfire Partners, spoke about home hardening and building defensible space through mitigation, starting within the first five-foot radius directly around one’s home—the most critical zone, as that is where embers can accumulate—expanding to a 30-foot radius, and finally mitigation of a 100-foot radius.  

“Know your environment, work hard to prepare, and look at that range of ignition potential,” Webster said. “We’re looking at the vulnerabilities on the home, and breaking up the pathways for fire to prevent flame from contacting structures.” 

Webster informed the group about some of Wildfire Partners’ processes, including testing, in which they research the resilience of home building materials against embers, direct flame contact, and radiant heat. Webster also provided some of the organization’s mitigation checklist used to evaluate homes for certification and special insurance rebates. 

For more information on these topics, see wildfirepartners.org. 

A representative from the Boulder County Community Forestry Sort Yards offered information regarding the Sort Yards’ operating hours and seasons, as well as on their procedures. Both the Nederland and Meeker Park (North of Allenspark) Sort Yards are open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The season for Nederland opens May 6 and will remain open until November 14; Meeker Park will officially open on May 14 and will close on October 31.   

Nederland Fire Protection District’s (NFPD) Wildland Coordinator Tim Hohnbaum provided data on home sprinkler kits and on the benefits of metal spike oscillating sprinklers, gutter mounted sprinklers, and tripod oscillating sprinklers for rooftops. 

Hohnbaum also explained what was prohibited during Stage 1 and Stage 2 fire restrictions, as well as on Red Flag days. Stage 1 prohibits the use of open fires that utilize ember-creating fuels, including wood-fueled campfires and charcoal barbecues, fireworks for personal use, and smoking outdoors.

Stage 2 fire restrictions go further by more strictly prohibiting the discharge of firearms and the use of a chainsaw, welding equipment, or explosives on one’s own private property.  

NFPD Fire Chief Charlie Schmidtmann and Julien Blundell, Fire Adapted Communities Coordinator with the Boulder Watershed Collective, spoke to the crowd about their initiative to provide safety-compliant address signs to properties in and around the District, including in unincorporated Boulder County. 

“One of the big struggles that we have in the mountains is finding your house,” Schmidtmann said. “Your heart rate is 120, fire is coming at you, time is of the essence—the intent is to get everybody an address sign on a non-combustible post that you can see in every direction to help us get to you in an event of an emergency.”  

The signs are reflective, with numbers and characters four inches tall, half an inch wide, and white on a green background. The sign posts are metal, to be posted four to six feet above road grade, within 10 feet of the roadway and visible from all directions. 

Those interested can go to nfpd.org/address-signs to acquire one of the 75 available free address signs, or to purchase a sign and/or a post at a discounted rate of $20 for each.