Understanding and Reducing Wildfire Risk in Snowmass Village

The Town of Snowmass Village, in partnership with Roaring Fork Fire Rescue and the Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley, is launching a cutting-edge wildfire risk modeling project to help our community better understand wildfire exposure—and take the most effective steps to protect our homes and neighborhoods.

What Is the Project?

At the heart of this initiative is a state-of-the-art tool called AGNI-NAR (Asynchronous Graph Nexus Infrastructure for Network Assessment of Wildland-Urban Interface Risk). Developed by Dr. Hussam Mahmoud—a leading wildfire risk expert and Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy, and Climate—AGNI-NAR offers a new way to model how wildfire can move through both landscapes and neighborhoods.

Unlike traditional wildfire models, AGNI-NAR uses graph theory to simulate how fires can spread from vegetation to homes—and from home to home. It accounts for factors like wind speed, ember travel, and evacuation pathways, making it one of the most advanced tools available for community-level wildfire risk assessment.

Why This Matters

With fire seasons growing longer and more intense, understanding local risk is critical. This model will help identify:

• Which homes or areas are most at risk
• How a fire might spread across the terrain and built environment
• The most effective mitigation strategies—like defensible space, building materials, and evacuation planning

We Need Your Help

To build the most accurate model possible, we need participation from Snowmass Village residents. A short survey is now available to collect important details about your property—such as roof type, nearby vegetation, and building materials. These details directly impact how fire behaves, and your input is essential.

Take the Snowmass Wildfire Risk Survey

The more residents who participate, the more accurate and useful the model will be.

Community Outreach and Collaboration

Over the coming weeks, our team will host HOA and community meetings across Snowmass Village to share more about the project, answer questions, and encourage participation.

This project is part of a broader regional effort by the Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley, a partnership launched in 2022 to unite fire agencies, local governments, and community organizations in a shared strategy for wildfire resilience.

By combining science, collaboration, and on-the-ground action, we’re working to protect what we value most—our homes, our community, and our future.