This past year has been unusually hot and dry in the central Colorado Rockies and all over Colorado, which has seen conditions that are prime for elevated wildfire risk and multiple wildfires. As temperatures remain high and moisture continues to trend low, wildfire mitigation is more important than ever. Sangre de Cristo Electric Association prioritizes wildfire mitigation year-round, even when conditions aren’t as concerning.
Wildfire mitigation is a responsibility SDCEA takes seriously. By doing our part to protect the community from wildfire risk, we are also protecting our land, water, air, and members’ quality of life. SDCEA board and staff live and work in the same communities we serve. These are our communities too, and we want to practice good stewardship.
The SDCEA program that most significantly impacts wildfire mitigation is vegetation management. The work of trimming and removing trees and shrubs that are imposing on power lines is hands-on, constant, and must be approached with caution. It is also absolutely essential for providing our members with safe, reliable power. Throughout the year, our crews methodically inspect high-risk vegetation throughout our service area and develop a strategic plan to navigate the season and minimize risk. Vegetation management must be implemented year after year to maintain a safe, reliable system.
To support these efforts, your SDCEA bill includes a monthly wildfire mitigation rate rider of $8. We thank you, our members, for your investment and collaboration in strengthening this program. This rider helps fund these essential vegetation management efforts. The charge has remained steady for three years because we have worked to keep the impact as manageable as possible for members while still advancing the work needed to protect our system and our communities. We also want to be clear that this rider is not intended to be permanent. SDCEA will lift the rider once the initial mitigation work is complete.
We know our members value transparency, and that’s why we want to give you a look into the essential programs the wildfire mitigation rider funds. Our vegetation management program equates to hundreds of miles of line assessed, vegetation cleared, areas improved for safer access, and ongoing planning that helps us keep you safe year after year. These programs are more than maintenance, they are an investment in future safety and system reliability. They help ensure that SDCEA is doing its part to lower risk wherever we can.
There are 759 miles of overhead, energized line on our system. Of that, approximately 260 miles do not need mitigation. SDCEA has made significant progress managing vegetation throughout the service area. As of June 2026, crews cleared close to 180 miles of vegetation in Chaffee, Fremont, Custer, and Lake counties. Lines in Saguache County on our system are few, run underground, and do not require vegetation management. That leaves an estimated 320 miles of line remaining to be cut or trimmed. Oftentimes, mitigation work is a slow process — it takes place in dense tree and shrub growth or difficult to access terrain.
Throughout 2026, one of the highest risk years on record, we remain focused on protecting our members and community through diligent mitigation. We will continue to approach vegetation management with resolve, because the safety of our members and the resilience of our grid depend on it.
Jon Beyer is the CEO of Sangre de Cristo Electric Association, a electric distribution cooperative based in Buena Vista, Colorado.
