COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — The City of Colorado Springs has several wildfire mitigation projects in the works. The focus is on the west side of the city, where homes sit right next to open space and federal land.
City crews are doing a lot of the work, but they encourage neighbors to get involved.
Many people along the west side had to evacuate during the Waldon Canyon Fire in 2012, and they take mitigation seriously.
"This progress is not just government alone," said Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade. "Really, this progress also belongs to the community, because since 2022, homeowners have contributed. (Are) you ready for this number? Homeowners have contributed more than 220,000 hours of mitigation work."
In 2021, voters passed a ballot measure that allowed the city to keep $20 million of TABOR money to go toward mitigation efforts.
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Proposed annexation could double a small Colorado town's population
A fifth-generation rancher has no official say as a massive housing development is proposed right next to his land. He lives just outside the town limits of Calhan, so he can't vote on the project that could double the town's size and threaten his way of life.
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