The critical infrastructure of Eagle County is more than just the roads, resorts, and homes; it also consists of a complex system of transmission lines for energy, water storage and transport infrastructure, and natural systems, such as watersheds and rivers, that the County relies upon for services and community health. As Eagle County continues to grow, the demand on the complex interdependent infrastructure to provide water, electricity, transportation, and recreational and livelihood services will follow suit. The stress on this interdependent system will be exacerbated by both short-term climate- and weather-related events, such as wildfire and flooding, and longer-term climate events, such as changing peak snow runoff periods due to increasing average annual temperatures.
The threat of climate change was highlighted by the Lake Christine Fire in Eagle County in 2018. While the fire was not naturally caused, it likely spread quickly due to extreme dry conditions resulting from a combination of drought and high temperatures, leaving little water in the ecosystem [1]. Three homes were destroyed, several hundred evacuated, and key energy infrastructure was threatened. Had the infrastructure been severely damaged or compromised, thousands would have been left without access to electricity. In the aftermath of the fire, mud-flow runoff and debris events have occurred in the area, along with elevated risk of future events.
The Infrastructure Climate Challenge
Increasing wildfire risk
The risk of wildfire will be magnified with increasing temperatures, leading to increasing evapotranspiration rates and decreasing water availability in the ecosystem. In addition, extreme climate events, such as longer dry periods, will intensify [2]. Wildfires threaten lives and livelihoods, as well as key infrastructure, such as energy transmission lines, that Eagle County relies upon for services. As the risk of wildfires increases, the county’s neighborhoods, evacuation routes, emergency shelters, and resources to support communities will all be threatened. Furthermore, wildfires both directly and indirectly threaten the County’s ‘green infrastructure,’ such as vegetation and waterways, that the community relies on for access to services such as clean water, and natural barriers to prevent erosion [3].
Increasing drought
As the County’s population and tourism rates increase, as predicted, there will be a higher demand on water resources. The demand for access to quality drinking water, as well as pressure on the various watersheds in the county, will increase. In years with extreme drought, which trends show are increasing, this pressure will be further intensified. Increased drought requires efficient management of water resource infrastructure, such as access to storage and the ability to pump water in some instances, combined with sustainable management of natural watersheds that the community relies upon for multiple services.
Increasing Flooding
Flooding is one of the most common natural hazards which regularly impact Eagle County. Oftentimes flooding in Eagle County, particularly of the Eagle River, threatens homes and neighborhoods in low lying areas. Flash floods due to extreme rain is especially problematic and can cause swift and immediate damage to homes, roads, and cause debris that threaten other key infrastructure. Eagle County’s mountainous terrain, combined with rocky soils that do not absorb water well, make flash floods common and dangerous. Extreme rain following a wildfire is especially dangerous, as burned soils repel rather than absorb water, leading an increasing flash-flood risk. Communities living in low-lying areas close to rivers and further downstream are especially susceptible.
Infrastructure Resilience Strategies
Create redundant and resilient utility infrastructure with a focus on energy, water, and telecommunications.
How It Helps: Energy, water, and communications are the systems that tie our communities together. Resilient systems are diverse, have back-ups and redundancy, and are flexible and able to dynamically respond to extreme weather events, changing conditions, natural disasters, and other stressors. They provide the backbone support for the health, safety, and wellbeing of all County residents.
Actions:
Adopt policies that require underground utilities infrastructure to increase safety, improve reliability, and increase system resilience.
Implement rural broadband to provide internet access to rural areas for wildfire evacuation, communication, and education/outreach.
Develop source water protection plans for water utilities and implement recommendations to protect source water from the impacts of wildfire and drought.
Foster and enhance coordination between organizations for pre- and post-disaster response.
How It Helps: It takes hard work, good communication, and strong partnerships to effectively respond to disasters. With the risk of more frequent, more intense, and less predictable wildfires on the horizon (as well as other risk), we need to be better prepared to deal with these events, both during the event and during the long period of recovery. Investing in these partnerships now will enhance our ability as a County to prepare for and face the challenges of the future.
Actions:
Strengthen County relationship with non-governmental organizations, businesses, and faith-based organizations that can support the County during disaster response and recovery.
Asses the connection between water suppliers and frontline communities.
Develop a more robust community alert system.
Ensure safe, effective, and equitable multi-modal evacuation strategies for the County.
How It Helps: Some areas of the County are in remote areas with only one way in or out. Residents of these areas are particularly vulnerable during wildfires, floods, or other disaster events and can become isolated. Thinking holistically about the multi-modal transportation system, investing in planning for evacuations, and executing those plans (if necessary) can avert a crisis before it starts.
Actions:
Model and streamline potential evacuation routes, bottlenecks, and evacuation alternatives (ie. open gates in private communities).
Ensure evacuation strategies are updated across all plans prior to an emergency event.
Educate all residents on evacuation procedures in culturally appropriate ways.
Enhance vegetation management, defensible space, and building hardening efforts across the County.
How It Helps: The County has existing robust programs dedicated to vegetation management, defensible space, and home/building hardening efforts, and it is important to continue to cultivate those efforts. Wildfire poses a significant risk to many County residents; therefore, prioritizing this ongoing work is essential to enhancing resilience in the community.
Actions:
Increase dedicated staffing for vegetation management programs.
Provide incentives to homeowners that are following fire safe practices.
Increase funding for County-wide forest and vegetation management to implement long-term, on-going forest management at the landscape scale.
Enforce Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) policies, zoning laws, and regulations.
How It Helps: Policies and regulations are only as good as their ability to be enforced. Many of the County’s residents live in the Wildland Urban Interface, and continuing to ensure that all residents are complying with County policies and regulations are essential to minimizing our risk to catastrophic wildfire.
Actions:
Increase the number of annual inspections for defensible space.
Improve land-use planning and zoning laws to avoid future development in high-risk WUI areas.
Create and enforce a resolution for defensible space compliance with absentee property owners.
Facilitate flexible deployment of temporary housing post disaster.
How It Helps: Depending on the severity of an extreme weather event, it can take months, and sometimes years, for families to recover from these events. A key piece of this recovery is housing, especially in Eagle County where affordable housing is limited. Post-disaster housing can help provide stability for families and communities as they work to rebuild their lives and remain part of the community.
Actions:
Adopt flexible zoning codes to be implemented during emergencies (i.e. allow mobile homes, allow high occupancy in places).
Identify temporary housing deployment zones to be utilized during emergencies.
Potential Partners
Eagle County Housing Authority, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), private insurance companies, individual property owners, charitable organizations (food banks, Red Cross, Salvation Army), Eagle County towns and metro districts, local schools, churches, recreation center, hospital, Eagle County Sustainable Communities, FireSafe program, community members, the Greater Eagle Fire Protection District, local fire departments, Eagle County Public Health and the Environment, utility companies, Eagle County Water and Sanitation District, Eagle County Emergency Management, Eagle County Housing Authority, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), planners, homeowners, local gov/safety enforcement, public works, transit agencies, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), planners, homeowners, Union Pacific, emergency services, other relevant districts (e.g., recreation districts w/ shelter), radio stations, Eagle County Alert system, public information officers (PIOs), Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), water district providers, local volunteer organizations, the Town of Gypsum, Holy Cross Energy, Xcel Energy, Black Hills Energy, United States Forest Service (USFS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), nonprofit organizations, citizen groups, Verizon (and other mobile phone providers), Comcast, CenturyLink, Project THOR.
