FLAGSTAFF — The City of Flagstaff and its partners have launched a process to update the Greater Flagstaff Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The City received a grant in 2025 to update the Plan and hired SWCA Environmental Consultants to lead the update. The primary goal of this effort is to develop an actionable plan that communities can use to feel empowered in protecting themselves, their loved ones, and their property.
The CWPP is a collaborative, community-driven plan that outlines local priorities for reducing fire risk and makes recommendations for hazardous fuels reduction, public outreach and education, structural ignitability reduction, and fire response capabilities. These plans serve as both a strategic guide and practical tool to help communities identify hazards, prioritize actions, and strengthen partnerships between residents, fire agencies, land management organizations, and other stakeholders.
The Greater Flagstaff Region CWPP was originally drafted in 2005 and updated in 2012 and 2018. The current Greater Flagstaff Region CWPP planning process kicked off in late 2025 and is expected to be completed by early 2027. Development of a CWPP provides the opportunity for collaboration among local, state, federal officials, as well as non-governmental stakeholders and community members. The updated Greater Flagstaff CWPP will focus on a core planning area within Coconino County, encompassing Flagstaff and Sedona as well as adjacent communities, and identify priority areas where mitigation measures are needed to protect life, property, and critical infrastructure from wildfire. The updated Greater Flagstaff CWPP will be developed to complement and integrate with the Coconino County CWPP (in process) to ensure that the needs of both incorporated and unincorporated communities within the county are effectively considered.
This CWPP effort will enable local partnering agencies to identify, plan, and implement successful wildfire mitigation actions, including hazardous fuel treatment projects on public and private land; organizing public outreach and education; and better preparing communities that are at high to extreme risk of wildfire by utilizing the Fire Adapted Community concepts. Much of this work will be achieved through interagency collaboration, working with communities and across ownership boundaries to develop landscape-level wildfire mitigation solutions.
The updated Greater Flagstaff CWPP will serve as a guiding document for fire and emergency managers, as well as agencies who manage land within the planning area. The updated CWPP will serve residents and community members, and residents are encouraged to engage in the process. The City is planning several community engagement events to prioritize input from the public. More information will be provided at a later date. Please contact Neil Chapman, City of Flagstaff, at neil.chapman@flagstaffaz.gov, or the CWPP development team at GreaterFlagstaffCWPP@swca.com with any questions.