Kevin Lombardo's house is not like the others in his Louisville neighborhood. It's cube-shaped and has steel siding. Some say it's odd.
鈥淧eople have come up and asked us questions about our house, 鈥榃hy did we do this?鈥� And, 鈥榃hat is that?鈥欌�� he said.
But each decision of the custom build was made with a purpose. Lombardo steps outside and points up to a on the side of his house. It traps flying embers.
鈥淭here's holes on the outside, and then there's a finer mesh inside,鈥� he said. 鈥淚nside that finer mesh is that material that swells up if it gets too hot.鈥�
This redesign wasn鈥檛 originally planned. The Lombardos lost their previous home of six years in the 2021 Marshall Fire. They saw a huge cloud of smoke and instantly started packing up their belongings.
鈥淚 honestly didn't think that the house was going to burn, I thought we were just kind of getting away from the smoke,鈥� Casey Lombardo said. 鈥淢y son was like, 鈥榊ou should pack your wedding picture.鈥� And I was like, 鈥極h, it's kind of big. We don't need to pack that.鈥欌��
When they returned, all except two homes in their neighborhood were gone. It took them a while to find their lot among the ash and ruins. She said it was a nightmare.
鈥淚t looked like a war zone, we couldn鈥檛 pinch ourselves and wake ourselves up,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e would look down in the pit of what was left of our foundation and see, like, my crock pot.鈥�
After the Marshall Fire, everyone was scrambling to figure out insurance, builders, and how to get back in a home. They had to learn, spend and do a lot in a short amount of time.
The Lombardos ultimately did what was best for them. They decided to rebuild with fire safety in mind.
They invested in decking that鈥檚 been pressure-treated with fire resistant chemicals, added triple-paned windows, and hardscaped more of their property with concrete.
But not all of their neighbors could afford or consider that.
鈥淭his was all very haphazard. We were just very challenged as a community because we were so underinsured,鈥� Kevin Lombardo said. 鈥淲hen you look around and see different choices, it is hard鈥� you can only do what you can do and help raise awareness.鈥�
Casey Lombardo also understands the squeeze. But she wishes the neighborhood put more fire-resistant measures into practice.
鈥淚t would have been really cool if someone could have come in and take(n) our whole neighborhood and sa(id), 鈥榃e're going firewise. We鈥檙e gonna do this right, and this community will survive another fire,鈥欌�� she said.
The Front Range is no stranger to wildfires. While fire leaders are actively training for the dry, summer months, they say homeowners can play a huge role in preparation by investing in fire-resistant techniques.
Community fire safety is what gets Melanie Gaylord excited. She stands outside her home in west Fort Collins as a delivery truck drives through her neighborhood.
鈥淥oh, somebody else is getting (cement) fiber board, yay!鈥� she said, smiling. 鈥淚'm trying to push neighbors that if they're gonna re-side their house, they get cement.鈥�
She鈥檚 the founder of , which shares free fire safety resources and tips with homeowners in Northern Colorado. She started the organization soon after evacuating during the Cameron Peak fire in 2020. The fire came within a mile from her home.
鈥淲e can still see the burn scar from our deck,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's a good reminder, but also a grim reminder that this can happen, and will happen, again and again.鈥�
Her house didn鈥檛 burn down, but she started doing what she could to her own home to prepare for the future 鈥� getting cement siding, moving her propane tank and changing out her junipers for low-flammable plants. She鈥檚 already invested around $30,000.
But her own efforts might not be enough, since all it takes is one nearby home that鈥檚 not prepared to start a fire and destroy a whole neighborhood.
鈥淚'm not actually, technically any safer until they are,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e all kind of, as Coloradans, have to do this together, or it's not going to work. So I decided that the best way to help myself was to essentially help all of the surrounding communities."
Gaylord is one of the many Northern Colorado residents who live in the . That鈥檚 where homes and wilderness meet, and where fires caused by humans .
In 2022, Colorado State Forest Service estimated that there are . That鈥檚 half of the state鈥檚 population. Around 20% of those homes and buildings were in Boulder, Larimer and Weld counties. They鈥檙e still tabulating the 2025 data.
鈥淲e are seeing increasing numbers of population in the WUI in Colorado,鈥� Amanda West Fordham, the associate director of the science and data division of the agency, said. 鈥淚t's really important for people who are moving into these spaces to understand wildfire risk.鈥�
But fire officials are still estimating there could be around 6,000 wildfires just this summer. State and federal budgets . Insurance has become more expensive or hard to find for some homeowners in the WUI because companies see the increased fire risk. And the climate data.
That鈥檚 why Fordham says taking care of your own home is the first step. The agency has to see what homes are at the highest degree of wildfire risk and on what homeowners should change.
Some of their general tips include removing leaves and pine needles around the house and investing in fire-safe fencing and roofing.
鈥淎ll of these efforts help firefighters by allowing them to concentrate their work on managing fire,鈥� Fordham said.
But ultimately, Fordham said, it takes a village to create change.
鈥淚t's really important to reach out to your neighbors and support community wildfire protection planning,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat's really the key to long-term wildfire resilience in the state of Colorado.鈥�
Gaylord has become her own neighborhood wildfire advocate for this reason. She got a grant from Larimer County鈥檚 Office of Emergency Management in 2022, and she decided to hold a wildfire mitigation event in 2023. She was told no one would participate, and she wasn鈥檛 sure what to expect. But people were ready to take some steps toward change.
鈥淚t was just me, a trailer, a wood chipper and a chainsaw, just going door to door, helping neighbors,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t one point, I want to say we removed over 100 tons of fire fuel.鈥�
Currently, she鈥檚 training to be certified in wildfire mitigation and risk management. She鈥檚 also done a lot of classes for the community with the help of local fire agencies. The first one was held in her neighborhood cul-de-sac in 2023.
鈥淓verybody was all in. Hands were up, questions were asked,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was fantastic to see everybody's enthusiasm of, 鈥極kay, what can we do about this? What can we do about this?鈥欌��
She knows there鈥檚 no way to be 100% 鈥渇ireproof,鈥� and not all of her neighbors participate. But she feels a lot of peace in the efforts she and her neighbors have taken. She felt a noticeable difference when the Alexander Mountain fire came close to her neighborhood last year.
鈥淚t was kind of a moment of pride of, 鈥極kay, what we're doing really does matter,鈥欌�� she said.
Gaylord plans to teach more classes in Berthoud, Loveland, and other rural communities soon.
皇冠网址 has a Northern Colorado Wildfire Resources page to post current wildfire updates, evacuation notices and more. You can check it out here.
