Colorado to Shift $12M in Unused Snowplow Funds to Wildfire Mitigation

State transportation officials brace for early and severe wildfire season amid drought conditions.

Mar. 28, 2026 at 2:34pm

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A vast, atmospheric landscape painting depicting a winding highway cutting through a parched, hazy Colorado countryside, the scale of the natural world dwarfing the man-made infrastructure.Colorado's highways, once blanketed in winter snow, now face the looming threat of wildfires as the state grapples with a historic drought.Garfield Today

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will repurpose $12 million in unused snowplow funds to increase roadside wildfire mitigation efforts across the state. This comes as Colorado faces a record-low snowpack and severe drought conditions, raising concerns about an early and intense wildfire season. CDOT plans to use data-driven analysis to target the most vulnerable areas along highways for vegetation management, tree removal, and other fire prevention measures.

Why it matters

With much of Colorado experiencing severe to exceptional drought, transportation officials are proactively shifting resources to address the heightened wildfire risk. Highways serve as critical evacuation routes during wildfires, and the right-of-way vegetation can act as natural fire breaks to help slow the spread of blazes. This preemptive action aims to protect public safety and infrastructure along Colorado's roadways.

The details

CDOT will use a Colorado State Forest Service Wildfire Risk Map to identify the highway segments with the highest probability of burning. In these priority areas, crews will remove diseased, dead, or dying trees within 15 feet of the right-of-way, as well as lower branches that could act as ladder fuels. The wood will mostly be chipped and left on site to decompose. CDOT has already completed nearly 28,000 swath miles of roadside mowing this fiscal year, up from the previous year, and has removed over 3,800 trees from rights-of-way.

  • As of March 2026, Colorado's snowpack has already peaked and melted off rapidly, several months earlier than usual.
  • By June 2026, Colorado's Western Slope, including the I-70 mountain corridor, is expected to face above-average wildfire risk.

The players

Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)

The state transportation agency responsible for maintaining Colorado's highway system and infrastructure.

Bob Fifer

CDOT Deputy Director of Operations, who outlined the agency's plans to shift funds towards wildfire mitigation.

Jim Fox

CDOT Deputy Director of Maintenance, who provided details on the department's ongoing roadside mowing and tree removal efforts.

Shawn Smith

CDOT Director of Maintenance and Operations, who noted the $12 million in snow and ice contingency funds that will help fund the increased wildfire mitigation.

Colorado State Forest Service

The state agency that provides the Wildfire Risk Map CDOT will use to target its mitigation efforts.

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What they’re saying

“'It just doesn't look good for us. We are expecting a drought across the state.'”

— Bob Fifer, CDOT Deputy Director of Operations

“'When you have 9,000 miles, or 24,000 lane miles, of road, where do you start mitigation? What's the most surgical area? How can we do it to get the most bang for the limited dollars we have? We're going to use this data to drive that decision-making and we're going to start with the most vulnerable areas.'”

— Bob Fifer, CDOT Deputy Director of Operations

“'The highways are natural fire lines or fire breaks' that can help slow the spread of wildfires and that firefighters can use to strategically hold the fire at bay.”

— Bob Fifer, CDOT Deputy Director of Operations

What’s next

CDOT will continue to monitor drought conditions and wildfire risk across the state, and may need to allocate additional funds beyond the initial $12 million to address the heightened mitigation needs.

The takeaway

Colorado's transportation officials are taking proactive steps to prepare for an early and severe wildfire season by repurposing unused snow removal funds to bolster roadside vegetation management and fire prevention efforts. This demonstrates the state's commitment to public safety and infrastructure resilience in the face of climate change-driven extreme weather.