During a work session held by the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) on Tuesday, May 19, Sheriff Mike Le Roux presented a fire mitigation work grant opportunity through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program.
According to a press release on FEMA’s website, on March 25, FEMA announced the funding opportunity, making $1 billion available to local governments, states, territories and tribal nations, “empowering them to take decisive, proactive steps to protect their communities from potential disasters like fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes.”
The press release also states, “This investment will generate jobs, protect private property, strengthen infrastructure, reduce the cost of future disasters and—most importantly—save lives.”
During the work session, Le Roux explained that a portion of the grant application needed to be submitted by June 1, but that he would come before the BoCC again later in June with the final grant application.
Le Roux spoke about the Oak Fire that occurred in August 2025, explaining that it was 75 acres in size.
“One of the primary objectives was to keep it out of Martinez Canyon,” he said, referencing a map of the area and describing the canyon as a “deep, dark vein” of untreated fuel that backs up to Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association (PLPOA) neighborhoods.
He explained that Martinez Canyon splits and part of that split also backs up to the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) infrastructure, “which is critical infrastructure for us.”
Le Roux also mentioned that the other part of the canyon runs through U.S. Forest Service land in the Turkey Springs area, noting the Forest Service has done a “great job of mastication and mitigation” on the west side of the canyon as the east side of the canyon backs up to residences.
Le Roux noted the canyon is about 2.85 miles long following the direction of prevailing winds, “and it’s nasty in there.”
During the Oak Fire, preevacuation notices were issued for areas east of the fire along U.S. 160, going up North Pagosa Boulevard to Capitan Circle, Le Roux noted, explaining that an assessment of that area of pure property value is about $720 million and makes up approximately one-third of PLPOA.
Le Roux noted that property value assessment did not include “our critical infrastructure,” including businesses located in the Country Center Drive Plaza just on the other side of North Pagosa Boulevard.
“So, we’re looking at doing as much as we can with this project to mitigate this canyon and protect these residences and everything in this surrounding area,” Le Roux said.
He went on to explain that about 300 acres in the canyon have been selected for the project for fuel thinning and mastication, totaling about $750,000.
Le Roux indicated that the county will be applying for $562,500 through the BRIC grant program, leaving roughly a 25 percent match for the county at about $187,500.
He noted there may be other grant opportunities at a later point to bring the county’s match down, “but at this point we have to take responsibility for the 25 percent match.”
Le Roux explained that there are six properties that cover the canyon, which include private properties, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and PLPOA properties.
He mentioned that the BLM has a 40-acre parcel in the area and has indicated that it would support the work and would likely be responsible for the cost of work on its property.
“At this point, everybody’s on board with it,” he said.
Le Roux also explained that the mitigation work will focus mostly on the rim of the canyon, noting that is the “best bang for [the] buck” compared to trying to work in the bottom of the canyon in steeper areas.
“We’re not gonna go into the bottom of the canyon,” he said, explaining the work along the rim will provide a target area for aerial equipment for if and when a fire occurs there.
Emergency Management Commander Roy Vega commented that any sort of fuels-reduction work the county can do “is only going to benefit us.”
“Fuels-reduction work is the most important thing we can do to prevent large fire growth, and is also going to be a lot cheaper than if we had to suppress a fire,” Vega added.
Le Roux noted that about $2 million in suppression was spent on the Oak Fire that lasted three days, with $660,000 of that being spent in one day on aerial support alone.
He also commented that since the Plumtaw Fire in May 2022, “We have spent millions in this county on federal land, and on private land, for suppression,” far exceeding the cost of what it takes to mitigate high-risk areas.
Commissioner Veronica Medina expressed support for the project, noting that it would be money well spent.
In response to a question from Medina, Le Roux explained that the “hope” is to receive notice of award in 2027 and that the mitigation work could begin in 2028.
Medina also asked if the PLPOA would be willing to assist with any funding.
PLPOA General Manager Alan Roth indicated that the organization has reserve funds set aside each year specifically for fire mitigation work and would be willing to assist with those funds.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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