Tawnya Somauroo didn't know much about her community until it burned to the ground.

She didn't know the name of her subdivision, where city hall was or who was serving as mayor. She certainly wasn't in direct contact with her representative in the state house.

Then, on Dec. 30, 2021, the Marshall Fire reduced Somauroo's Louisville home, where she lived with her two young kids, to a pile of ashen rubble. Every house in her neighborhood suffered the same fate.

Somauroo is now on a first-name basis with State Rep. Kyle Brown, a Boulder County Democrat whose district includes Somauroo's Cornerstone neighborhood. Over the last two years, she's gained an encyclopedic knowledge of building codes, fire-safe materials and local design and landscaping ordinances.

"I know I'm a nerd," she said.

Along with other Marshall Fire victims, Somauroo advocated for a new law that blocks homeowners associations or other neighborhood rules from preventing the use of fire-resistant building materials.

More than 2.6 million Coloradans   more than half the state's population   live in homes governed by HOAs. The associations have tremendous power. For example, some Colorado HOAs prevent residents from replacing combustible materials like wooden fences. This law overrules that. Governor Jared Polis signed the bill, sponsored by Rep. Brown, in March.

moar

If I remember right similar wildfire mitigation bills sponsored by Republicans were shot down years past.

We just built a home that is about 1.5 miles from a huge forest (fire risk) and backs up to open space (moderate risk)

All the fences are concrete beam and most of the houses have stucco siding (fire resistant).

The only thing that sucks is they REQUIRE a huge amount of landscaping.