Sandoval County announces Community Wildfire Protection Plan update

Sandoval County Emergency Management announced Thursday that it is updating the county-wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

Dan Heerding, emergency manager for Sandoval County, said the CWPP is a collaborative effort among Sandoval County and its local, state, federal and tribal partners. The CWPP, which serves residents and business, property and land owners, is a resource and reference document for fire and emergency managers and other agencies responsible for protecting people, property and land in Sandoval County.

The plan is scheduled to be completed by May 2025.

The county has again engaged SWCA Environmental Consultants to manage the CWPP 2024-25 update. SWCA developed the original CWPP for Sandoval County in 2008, and it conducted an update in 2012.

A CWPP identifies and then develops a series of actions designed to improve wildfire mitigation. These items include forest-thinning treatment projects on public and private land, public outreach and education and enhanced fire preparedness for communities in areas of high to extreme wildfire risk. This work is accomplished through the participating entities (area agencies, partners, and communities across ownership boundaries) coming together to create and establish landscape-level solutions for diminishing wildfire threats and damages.