https://coloradosun.com/2020/09/15/face-hazards-price-wildfires-natural-disasters/


Good Morning, Colorado, and welcome to the Daily Sun-Up. It’s Wednesday September 16th, and we’re feeling lucky to start the day with you. Every day we’re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. Today our focus is on a dashboard that explores the economic cost of natural hazards.

But before we begin, let’s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett’s book “Colorado Day by Day”:

Today, we’re going back to September 16th 1949 when city dignitaries gathered on the south side of the National Western Stock Show grounds in northeast Denver to break ground on the Denver Coliseum. 

For nearly a quarter century it hosted musical acts including Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones.

Now, today’s feature story from Colorado Sun staff writer Lucy Haggard.

In 2020 alone, Colorado has experienced statewide drought, accelerating population growth and hundreds of thousands of acres burned in wildfires. As climate change quickly descends on the planet, many in the state are wondering how to be resilient in the face of disaster.

Enter the Future Avoidance Cost Explorer, also known as FACE:Hazards. The project is the result of multiple state and federal agencies collaborating to provide decision-makers a tangible understanding of how disasters will affect Colorado’s economy in the future. The project was developed in just over a year’s time and focuses specifically on three of Colorado’s most common natural hazards: wildfire, drought and floods.

Through a public website, anyone can explore multiple scenarios of climate change and population growth as they might look for Colorado in the year 2050. The interactive dashboard visualizes the project’s data, broken down by different economic sectors and geographic regions. 

Megan Holcomb, a senior climate specialist at the Colorado Water Conservation Board, served as technical lead for the project. She said the dollar estimates for the tool are likely underestimates due to limits in how the team could line up data from different counties. Not to mention how this year’s record-breaking fire season could impact future updates to the project.

“Like anything, it just creates more questions for me. I would like to see data in retrospect.

Still, FACE:Hazards is starting a conversation on how the state and its communities can adapt and prepare for what may come. On the dashboard, users see the potential economic impact of a variety of resilience efforts. For wildfires, that could include community outreach, regulating development in high risk zones, and clearing away debris to buffer houses in high-risk fire areas.

“There’s concern when talking about resiliency, it’s always in the positive light of not being able to not avoid disaster but bounce back from them, have diverse enough economy, diverse landscapes to withstand impacts, also have enough of that community that isn’t hit to help rebuild. Resilience is not - we will never be impacted by disasters - its ability to rebound from disturbance.

Of course, the sooner communities can get in a resilient mindset, the better off they’ll be down the road.

“if we don’t start budgeting for these big impacts, we know they’re just gonna keep happening, so need to at least budget for repairs and response and recovery, which is mostly how a lot of counties operate or state operates, but there’s no easy way to just put away millions of dollars in rainy day funds, no one has that kind of cash at city or county level.

But if the coronavirus pandemic has shown one thing, it’s that communities can be most resourceful in times of trouble.

"all of a sudden people sharing info on how to grow food, do things at home, was an uptick in well we’re at home, must figure out how to be homemakers again; don’t think that will always be level that we’re at here on out, but was interesting to watch; lot of lessons from coronavirus that i think we’ll see replicated as disasters are happening more often. Think folks and individuals and neighbors, friends, family in support of one another might feel a little more empowered to build communities back from disaster, rather than waiting for someone else to come in and repair."

For the Colorado Sun, I’m Lucy Haggard.

Thanks Lucy - 

You can read the companion story to this feature over at coloradosun.com. And stay tuned to hear more special features from Lucy in future episodes.

And before we go here are a few stories you should know about today:

Colorado health officials have sounded the alarm about [quote] “very substantial increases” in coronavirus cases among the college-age population.

Colorado families are leaving $58 million in federal food aid on the table. A Chalkbeat analysis found that school districts served just a fraction of the meals they normally would provide to children living in poverty.

From the shores of Long Island to the resorts of the Rocky Mountains, traditional vacation destinations have seen a major influx of affluent people relocating to wait out the pandemic - bringing new medical pressures as well.

For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. 

The Colorado Sun is non-partisan and completely independent. We're always dedicated to telling the in-depth stories we need today more than ever. And The Sun is supported by readers and listeners like you.

Right now, you can head to ColoradoSun.com and become a member. Starting at $5 per month for a basic membership and if you bump it up to $20 per month, you’ll get access to our exclusive politics and outdoors newsletters. Thanks for starting your morning with us and don’t forget to tune in again tomorrow.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

<a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/09/15/face-hazards-price-wildfires-natural-disasters/">https://coloradosun.com/2020/09/15/face-hazards-price-wildfires-natural-disasters/</a>
 Good Morning, Colorado, and welcome to the Daily Sun-Up. It&rsquo;s Wednesday September 16th, and we&rsquo;re feeling lucky to start the day with you. Every day we&rsquo;re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. Today our focus is on a dashboard that explores the economic cost of natural hazards. But before we begin, let&rsquo;s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett&rsquo;s book &ldquo;Colorado Day by Day&rdquo;: Today, we&rsquo;re going back to September 16th 1949 when city dignitaries gathered on the south side of the National Western Stock Show grounds in northeast Denver to break ground on the Denver Coliseum. For nearly a quarter century it hosted musical acts including Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones. Now, today&rsquo;s feature story from Colorado Sun staff writer Lucy Haggard. In 2020 alone, Colorado has experienced statewide drought, accelerating population growth and hundreds of thousands of acres burned in wildfires. As climate change quickly descends on the planet, many in the state are wondering how to be resilient in the face of disaster. Enter the Future Avoidance Cost Explorer, also known as FACE:Hazards. The project is the result of multiple state and federal agencies collaborating to provide decision-makers a tangible understanding of how disasters will affect Colorado&rsquo;s economy in the future. The project was developed in just over a year&rsquo;s time and focuses specifically on three of Colorado&rsquo;s most common natural hazards: wildfire, drought and floods. Through a public website, anyone can explore multiple scenarios of climate change and population growth as they might look for Colorado in the year 2050. The interactive dashboard visualizes the project&rsquo;s data, broken down by different economic sectors and geographic regions. Megan Holcomb, a senior climate specialist at the Colorado Water Conservation Board, served as technical lead for the project. She said the dollar estimates for the tool are likely underestimates due to limits in how the team could line up data from different counties. Not to mention how this year&rsquo;s record-breaking fire season could impact future updates to the project. &ldquo;Like anything, it just creates more questions for me. I would like to see data in retrospect. Still, FACE:Hazards is starting a conversation on how the state and its communities can adapt and prepare for what may come. On the dashboard, users see the potential economic impact of a variety of resilience efforts. For wildfires, that could include community outreach, regulating development in high risk zones, and clearing away debris to buffer houses in high-risk fire areas. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s concern when talking about resiliency, it&rsquo;s always in the positive light of not being able to not avoid disaster but bounce back from them, have diverse enough economy, diverse landscapes to withstand impacts, also have enough of that community that isn&rsquo;t hit to help rebuild. Resilience is not - we will never be impacted by disasters - its ability to rebound from disturbance. Of course, the sooner communities can get in a resilient mindset, the better off they&rsquo;ll be down the road. &ldquo;if we don&rsquo;t start budgeting for these big impacts, we know they&rsquo;re just gonna keep happening, so need to at least budget for repairs and response and recovery, which is mostly how a lot of counties operate or state operates, but there&rsquo;s no easy way to just put away millions of dollars in rainy day funds, no one has that kind of cash at city or county level. But if the coronavirus pandemic has shown one thing, it&rsquo;s that communities can be most resourceful in times of trouble. "all of a sudden people sharing info on how to grow food, do things at home, was an uptick in well we&rsquo;re at home, must figure out how to be homemakers again; don&rsquo;t think that will always be level that we&rsquo;re at here on out, but was interesting to watch; lot of lessons from coronavirus that i think we&rsquo;ll see replicated as disasters are happening more often. Think folks and individuals and neighbors, friends, family in support of one another might feel a little more empowered to build communities back from disaster, rather than waiting for someone else to come in and repair." For the Colorado Sun, I&rsquo;m Lucy Haggard. Thanks Lucy - You can read the companion story to this feature over at coloradosun.com. And stay tuned to hear more special features from Lucy in future episodes. And before we go here are a few stories you should know about today: Colorado health officials have sounded the alarm about [quote] &ldquo;very substantial increases&rdquo; in coronavirus cases among the college-age population. Colorado families are leaving $58 million in federal food aid on the table. A Chalkbeat analysis found that school districts served just a fraction of the meals they normally would provide to children living in poverty. From the shores of Long Island to the resorts of the Rocky Mountains, traditional vacation destinations have seen a major influx of affluent people relocating to wait out the pandemic - bringing new medical pressures as well. For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is non-partisan and completely independent. We're always dedicated to telling the in-depth stories we need today more than ever. And The Sun is supported by readers and listeners like you. Right now, you can head to ColoradoSun.com and become a member. Starting at $5 per month for a basic membership and if you bump it up to $20 per month, you&rsquo;ll get access to our exclusive politics and outdoors newsletters. Thanks for starting your morning with us and don&rsquo;t forget to tune in again tomorrow.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Welcome to The Colorado Sun's daily podcast, The Daily Sun-Up. Every day we’re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. For more visit us at https://coloradosun.com/.

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