Combating wildfire risk
Stewards of land and community
Our members power the agricultural, mountain and tribal communities foundational to the rural West. Together we serve almost one million homes and businesses across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming—and we’re committed to providing them reliable, affordable, responsible electricity. That’s why when it comes to wildfire, Tri-State is proactively reducing risk through system hardening, vegetation management and situational awareness.
Wildfire Mitigation at Tri-State
Protection starts before the fire
We’re committed to prevention: proactive vegetation management, advanced modeling, and cutting-edge tools like AI, drones, and satellite imagery help us reduce wildfire risk long before a fire ever starts—every inspection, upgrade, and partnership guided by one purpose: protecting our members, their communities, and the places we call home.
Resiliency under fire
In August 2025 the Lee Fire burned over 130,000 acres in northwest Colorado – threatening the town of Meeker as well as Tri-State infrastructure. Learn the play-by-play from our Business Resiliency Manager, Pete Slintak, on how Tri-State worked with others to preserve and rebuild vital infrastructure.
Lee Fire Podcast Episode
Our proactive approach
Preventative situational awareness is the first line of defense in our wildfire mitigation program. We’re using tools like risk modeling, drone inspections, and daily reporting to prioritize when and how we harden our system. Using this data, we can plan vegetation management projects and transmission system upgrades so we maintain safe, reliable energy for our members.
Wildfire Mitigation Program PodcastHelp co-ops combat fire
Tri-State invests significantly in wildfire mitigation; however, no risk can be completely mitigated. Insurance agencies are no longer offering adequate wildfire insurance policies to electric cooperatives, and the smaller policies they do offer have recently doubled in price for only half the coverage. Electric cooperatives also face high wildfire liability—including for fires not caused by their equipment and when they have taken all precautions to mitigate those risks. To continue providing safe, reliable and affordable energy, rural electric cooperatives need protection from wildfire risks. Tri-State is working with elected officials across our service territory to develop solutions that better protect electric cooperatives from the growing risks of wildfire.
The videos below show how our members are also doing their part—both before and after a fire.
Additional resources
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Wildfire Mitigation
Learn how we safeguard our communities and protect our transmission system with a multi-layered, data-driven approach.
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Vegetation Management
Learn how we responsibly manage vegetation in our right-of-ways to help minimize risks from trees and vegetation that could interfere with our transmission lines.
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Home Wildfire Safety
Stay safe during wildfire season with these tips for your home: defensible space, emergency kits, evacuation planning, and preparing your home and family.
High Plains Power buries powerline in Dubois, WY to reduce wildfire risk
Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative and the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire
La Veta comes together to mitigate flooding after the Spring Creek Fire
