Updating our Wildfire Risk Map:
CORE uses the Wildfire Risk Map to make important decisions and prioritize where and how to upgrade facilities, underground lines, and pilot fire mitigation technologies and equipment. The current map is based on the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal that was published in 2017, but CSFS published their updated Wildfire Risk Assessment (WRA) in 2023 that contains updated fuels modeling and fire simulation data provided by Technosylva. We are using the data from the update to build a new internal risk map that combines Fire Intensity and Values at Risk to identify where catastrophic fires have the potential to occur and focus our mitigation efforts in these areas.
Integrating Risk Forecasting by Technosylva:
Technosylva is an industry leader in wildfire modeling and weather-based risk forecasting, and for the first time there product is available to smaller utilities as a web-based platform. This product provides daily wildfire risk forecasts for the coming five days at the asset level that, compared to the 3-day forecast for large geographic regions our current tool provides, will give us much greater situational awareness for the coming fire season.
Enhanced Vegetation Management Projects:
Many of our members and community partners have expressed a desire to see CORE expand upon our routine vegetation management in high-risk areas. This year we are doing just that by assisting Evergreen Fire and Rescue to clear fuels along Witter Gulch Rd, a critical evacuation route for the community. We will also be assisting community members to remove fuels near our lines along Highway 73 north of Conifer to improve ingress and egress there.
Expanding our Pano Camera Network:
In 2023, CORE invested in four Pano AI camera stations that have been automatically detecting smoke plumes and sending alerts to pertinent CORE employees and emergency responders. Due to the success of the initial pilot, CORE has decided to not only renew our subscription for the four existing stations but also to expand the program by adding at least 2 stations in 2024. The locations identified for the expansion are Devil’s Head Lookout and Monkey Face in Larkspur, both of which will increase coverage of some of the highest-risk areas of our territory.