Whats it Really Like to Live in Denver | Myths Debunked
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Moving to Denver Colorado in 2026? Before you believe the myths about snow, mountain access, wildfires, and Denver suburbs, watch this first. If you are thinking about moving to Denver Colorado, you have probably heard a lot of opinions about what living in Denver is really like. Some of them are true, some are exaggerated, and some can seriously mess with your expectations before you ever start your home search. In this video, Jake Freedle and Megan Freedle break down common myths- talk about Denver winter driving and whether you actually need tire chains, snow tires, or a special vehicle to survive your first Colorado winter, break down what Colorado winters are really like, including why the cold and snow often feel very different here than they do in the Midwest, and Northeast. We jump into one of the most common home search questions in Denver real estate: does your driveway really need to face south? Another major myth is Denver’s access to the mountains. Yes, the mountains are one of the best parts of living in Colorado, but if you think Denver is right in the mountains or that skiing is always a quick 30 minute drive, you may be surprised. We talk about the difference between hiking access, foothill access, ski traffic, and what weekend trips to places like Breckenridge, Vail, Copper Mountain, Winter Park, and Beaver Creek can actually look like. We also cover Denver wildfire risk and Colorado wildfire insurance. Wildfire is a real issue in Colorado, but the risk can change dramatically depending on whether you are in the city, the Denver suburbs, the foothills, or a true mountain community.
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Denver Relocation Myths Buyers Hear
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If you are thinking of making a move to
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the Denver area, you have no doubt heard
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some things about the area that are just
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dead wrong. And if you're using some of
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those things to base your expectations
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on what it's going to be like, you're
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going to be sorely disappointed. So,
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we're going to break down what those
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myths are and really give you the truth
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behind them.
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And why are we qualified to debunk
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[music] these myths? Well, we've been in
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the Denver metropolitan area for our
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entire lives. We've lived here. We've
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loved it here. We've [music] seen the
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changes. And we're really experts on
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what's happening in the Denver area. We
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work with clients constantly who are
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relocating here and we hear their
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complaints and their surprises.
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Yeah. You know, a lot of people say
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that. They talk a game on YouTube about
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how they are working every day to help
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people just like you find their place.
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But we really do. You can look us up on
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Zillow, see our stats. We really work,
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live, play here. We are Jake and Megan
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Fredel. We're your full-time real estate
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agents, part-time [music] tour guides to
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all things Denver living. And today we
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are excited to break down all of the
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myths about Colorado that might be
Denver Winter Driving, Chains & Snow Tires
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misguiding [music] you.
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All right, myth number one, winter
1:00
driving myths.
1:01
Winter driving myths are usually around
1:04
what kind of things you need to have on
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your car to be prepared. [music]
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Chains, like everybody needs tire
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chains, right?
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No, I'm here to say you really don't
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need to have chains. This is something
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that's really funny. I actually had um
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some child care that we had hired
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[music] and she was not from the US and
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she was getting prepped for her first
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winter here and she was telling me that
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she was putting her chains on her tires
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when we had maybe half an inch [music]
1:29
of snow. I up until this point, you
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know, I was in my 30s by this point. I
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did not even know that that was
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something you could do in town. I
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thought that chains were something you
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only ever could put on your tires when
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you were a big trucker in the [music]
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mountains on the highway to keep you
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safe.
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That's when you need it, right?
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And I think that's probably like most
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natives probably [music] have that same
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thought as me because they're not
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something you really genuinely need to
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[music] be safe driving in the Denver
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suburbs or in the city.
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So, we don't need to keep chains in your
2:02
back in your trunk for all times. And
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[music] you know, uh, I've never
2:05
understood the point of winter tires,
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right? Like the studded snow tires. I've
2:10
never had a pair. I've never needed a
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pair. I know so many people who have to
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change out their tires. You know, we
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[music] get to like September, October,
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you change into your your snow tires and
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you keep them taking up space in your
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garage all year long. I've literally
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never needed those. Um, [music] now I'll
2:26
say like if you're driving, you know, an
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old Camaro with a real rearwheel drive,
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that's not going to do well in the snow.
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But if you've got front-wheel drive or
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all-wheel drive, which is a wise [music]
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choice, then you're going to be fine.
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Um, an all-wheel drive tire should do it
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for [music] you all year long. That's
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all I've ever done is I get a decent
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like mid-grade all-wheel to allseason
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tire and we're just fine. Um, but I will
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say what's not a myth is the driving,
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[music]
Moving to Denver: First Snow & Roads
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the quality of drivers in the winter.
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What's your experience with that?
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Well, you know, I think we just have
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such a mix of people here and so people
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who are from like out of the country,
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out of the state, we do have a lot of
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transplants here and a lot of people who
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maybe are not ready [music] for their
3:11
first winter here or even their second
3:13
or third to be honest. I think uh one
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thing is like when you see the snow on
3:18
the roads, a lot of people have a hard
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time deciding [music] if it's ice or
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snowed.
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And like I don't know, our dad taught us
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when we first started driving to like
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test that before you're even getting on
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the getting onto the road, you know,
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test out your neighborhood. see if
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you're sliding.
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You just do a little slam on the brakes
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before you get around anybody or
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anywhere dangerous.
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Yeah. When you're in a controlled safe
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little area to kind of make sure um
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there's some tips and tricks and really
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just the [music] feel of it. Like it's a
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feeling you have when you're driving to
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kind of know what's underneath you. And
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if you don't have that feeling built up,
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you're not prepared for it. We have a
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lot of people here who are not sure
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about that feeling [music] yet and are
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maybe not driving, you know, either over
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cautiously or undercautiously. So, if
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you're from somewhere and you know how
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to drive in the winter and you're like
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from the Northeast, you do this all the
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time, maybe a good idea to like actually
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call it and skip that first snow. You
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know, if you're going to call out a day
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of the year because of snow, skip the
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first [music] one because that's when
4:12
like all the new people discover what
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it's like to drive on snow and
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everybody, all the people who have
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forgotten rediscover what's like. So,
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that first snow of the year is when we
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have a ton of accidents. So, it's not
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that it's actually like that bad. Uh
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it's just that we have a lot of people
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from all over the country who don't know
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what they're doing.
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Yeah. And you know, I'll say when we're
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talking about the chains, when we're
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talking about the snow tires, we're
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talking about the suburbs in the city,
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[music] there's of course caveats. Like
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if you are living deep in the mountains,
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um that is a different story and those
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roads really do need different
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preparation than being in [music] the
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city. But for the general people living
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in the suburbs, living in the city,
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those that's a [music] myth. even if
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you're not deep in the mountains. If
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you're just in Evergreen, for example,
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you're going to want to [music]
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you should be prepared to live in the
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mountains. There's a whole other world
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there. Um, but also another thing is
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like we have the infrastructure in place
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to take care of snowy days. So, we
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[music] have a great snow plow system um
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in and tons of snow plows. So, when we
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have these days, they get them out
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early. And honestly, sometimes I I'll be
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looking at my streets right outside my
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door and be like, "Oh [music] man,
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there's a foot of snow." Oh, but if you
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just get past that and onto the main
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road, it's clear.
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It's so true. I mean, especially if
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you're in an area where they are coming
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into your neighborhoods and plowing
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that, it's rare that the city is not so
5:31
on top of it that you truly can't make
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it out [music] within a few hours,
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right? So, really not that bad.
Colorado Winters: Snow, Sun & Patio Days
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Myth number two, Colorado winters are
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brutal.
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Oh, man. I love this one because it
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really keeps [music] all the people
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away. you know, we need something that
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makes people afraid of Colorado so that
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we don't just become [music] New York.
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But, uh, but it's funny. I hear people
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even from like the Northeast where they
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get a lot of snow be like, "Oh, but
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Colorado winters are brutal." And I mean
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like we can get a lot of snow and it
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sure can get cold, but typically we're
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[music] really lucky that winters are
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nice here because so we'll get those
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huge snows. We'll get the, you know,
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[music] the sub-zero temperatures maybe
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once or twice in the winter, but then
6:14
usually it's like 45° and sunny the next
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day, you [music] know?
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Yeah. The sun makes such a huge
6:20
difference, too, cuz like sometimes I
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feel like it is snowing while the sun is
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out, like simultaneously hand in hand.
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Sometimes the snow is hitting and it's
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melting really fast. And [music] even if
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it doesn't melt right away, it's
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stacking up. Sure. But the next day the
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sun is out at 60°. We've got a margarita
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in hand.
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Yeah. when and even if it's like so the
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funny thing about Colorado is [music] 40
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to 45° with sun in Colorado is patio
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weather because [music] the air is so
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dry and because the sun is so powerful
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cuz we're 5,000 ft above sea level that
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man like I mean I'll [music] be sitting
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on a patio in a t-shirt on a 45° weather
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day
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you know I used to work at a restaurant
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in another life and every time the sun
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came out it's like December and it's 40°
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and as a server like, "Oh my god, it's a
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patio day. We don't have a person staff
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or patio, but I sure am going to be
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running in outside." [laughter]
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I think because everybody wants to soak
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up the sunshine and be outside cuz
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that's that's the beauty of Colorado.
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It's really wonderful. So this myth like
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[music] don't let it bug you. It's
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actually a wonderful thing. If you're
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from somewhere in the Midwest where you
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know it snows once and you have snow,
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you have that same gray, gross, dirty
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snow that hangs around all winter.
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That's not usually the case here. You
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know, you like might have a snow that'll
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last for a couple weeks, but so often
7:39
the sun comes [music] out and melts it.
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And so we have these nice in between
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moments where everything is beautiful
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and and nice [music] again and you can
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get outside and enjoy it. Which leads us
South Facing Driveway Myth
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to our next point. You have to have a
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southacing driveway. [music]
7:54
Yes. I get people all the time who are
7:56
buying from out of state and they're
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like, "My aunt told me the number one
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thing I need to be looking for in a home
8:01
is having that southacing driveway." And
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I would just say, you know, this is a
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personal preference [music] thing. Now,
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I have had my first home was a do north
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facing driveway. [music] I will
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definitely speak to your pain. It is
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very tough to see the opposite side of
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the streets snow completely melted and
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yours is
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[music]
8:20
iced in, bricked, and you're out there
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shuffling for so much longer. It's a
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bummer. I get that. Um, I would also say
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I would never make a decision about my
8:31
home based purely on that. Like [music]
8:32
if I found the perfect home and it did
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have a north facing driveway, I don't
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think that would personally be the thing
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for me that would be like, I can't buy
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this house.
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Now, I'm a little more opinionated on
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this cuz I am absolutely making, you
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know, I would say, I don't [music] know,
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20% plus of my decision-m is based on
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the direction of my house. And it's not
8:54
what you think. I actually really want a
8:56
north-facing driveway [music] because I
8:58
want a southacing backyard. And here's
9:02
why. It's like typically if you think
9:03
about a house, most of the time most of
9:06
the windows are on the back. I'm
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pointing to the back of my house as
9:09
we're [laughter] sitting here. Those are
9:10
all my windows are on that side of the
9:12
house. And I am somebody who really
Denver Homes, Natural Light & Resale
9:15
needs natural light. Like a a well-lit
9:17
house is another huge part of my
9:20
decision-m for like, do I have natural
9:23
light in my home? And so having a
9:25
southacing [music] backyard gives you a
9:28
ton of light cuz all the windows there.
9:30
And then the other thing is like if you
9:31
love a backyard, which also is a huge
9:33
part of my decision-making matrix, we
9:35
have a beautiful backyard [music]
9:37
and we have this uh right now we face
9:40
west [music] unfortunately and uh west
9:43
is like fine. It's they're worse things,
9:45
but if you have a south facing backyard
9:47
all winter long you get this consistent
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[music]
9:50
sunlight and it melts your patio because
9:53
like when you get those nice 45° days,
9:56
you want to be able to go out and enjoy
9:57
it. And if your backyard is facing
9:59
north, it could be a beautiful day, but
10:01
you're not going to sit on that patio
10:02
unless you want to like shovel your
10:04
patio. And even then, it's still in the
10:06
shade and it's dark and cold.
10:08
And that makes me really sad cuz I got
10:09
to get outside in the summer. So,
10:11
see, that's what I was going to say
10:12
about my house that did face north is we
10:15
had the most beautiful backyard all the
10:17
time because, you know, it did it got so
10:19
much sunlight. It just felt like it was
10:20
really nicely oriented. I personally
10:22
think something in between [music] is
10:23
nice. I think not facing exactly due
10:26
north is nice because then you kind of
10:28
catch some angles on a lot [music] of
10:30
different ways. You still can get some
10:31
good angles in your backyard. You can
10:33
still get a little bit of sun in your
10:34
front yard. Um the way my home is
10:36
currently faced, you know, it's one of
10:38
those inbetweens. So, our driveway does
10:40
melt, but our backyard is not like dead
10:43
winter all the time. Like no sunlight.
10:45
Yeah. And while we're on it, just like
10:47
uh you know, my west facing yard [music]
10:49
is I mean it's nice to get evening sun.
10:52
I would take morning sun over evening
10:53
sun just because it'll melt start
10:55
melting things a little bit and then the
10:57
evening [music] sun is so powerful that
10:59
like in the in the summer we just get
11:02
rocked
11:03
with [music] the blast of the sun you
11:05
know the evening sun is very powerful.
11:07
Um so there's lots of problems but yeah
11:10
it's like personal preference right it's
11:12
you know do is is shoveling your
11:14
driveway the end of the world to you?
11:16
Okay you should probably consider that.
11:18
Is it worth basing your whole decision
11:20
on your home on? That's up to you. Do
11:22
you care more about your backyard? Do
11:23
you care more about your front yard? Do
11:25
you care more about the light coming
11:26
through the windows? Do you want
11:27
something in between? Um, I just don't
11:29
think it's a you [music] can't buy a
11:31
north facing home rule. I think it's a
11:33
myth.
11:33
Yeah, I think there are a couple of
11:36
resale [music] factors involved. Like I
11:37
said, the the biggest one I can point to
11:39
is the natural light factor. So, when if
11:42
you have beautiful natural light coming
11:44
in from all the windows in the back,
11:46
that's going to help your future resale.
11:48
So that's I think the biggest real world
11:50
impact is what's actually the amount of
Denver Mountain Access Reality
11:52
natural light you have.
11:53
Myth number four, Denver has really
11:56
great access to the mountains.
11:57
Yeah. A lot of people think that Denver
11:59
is in the mountains, which is really
12:01
funny. And I'll tell you, as soon as you
12:03
land on that airplane, you are going to
12:05
figure out like how far you can be from
12:07
the mountains and still be in Denver.
12:09
The DIA is like a 40minute drive to the
12:13
mountains, right? So, I think a lot of
12:14
people maybe if you've just done [music]
12:16
tours of skiing, if you like flown into
12:19
Veil or if you've skied in in Park City
12:22
in Utah for example, you might think
12:24
like, "Oh, the mountains are right
12:25
there." And they are. You can see them.
12:27
But it can take a while, especially like
12:29
to get to the ski mountains, right?
12:32
Like if you want
12:33
And when you say DIA is 40 minutes the
12:35
mountains, you mean like
12:37
to the beginning.
12:38
To the beginning.
12:39
To the very beginning with no traffic.
12:42
Yeah. Then then so if you want to get to
12:44
the ski hills, that's a whole different
12:46
story. [music] A lot of places like Park
12:47
City, you can drive to the ski hill in
12:49
like 30 minutes, right? In Denver to get
12:52
to some there's some there's a couple
12:54
small ski areas that are within about 45
12:56
minutes like Eldora, but they're not
12:58
like the places everybody's super
13:00
excited about going, right? like [music]
13:02
maybe if you're a super beginning skier,
13:03
but if you want to go to Breen Ridge, if
13:05
you want to go to Veil, if you want to
13:06
go to Beaver [music] Creek, Copper
13:08
Mountain, Winter Park, all these places
13:10
are, you know, Winter Park's not too
13:12
bad. It's about an hour and a half from
13:13
Denver if you hit good traffic. Uh but
13:16
most of those places are at least 2
13:18
hours away.
13:19
Yeah, cuz let's be real, most of our
13:20
people are are weekend warriors. And
13:23
Saturday morning, ouch, we're talking
13:25
about maybe doubling your drive time on
13:27
a Saturday morning on a ski season.
13:28
Yeah. So that's the big thing people
13:30
really need to be aware of is like if
13:31
you're coming here for skiing, you got
Ski Traffic, Hiking & Front Range Living
13:34
to be ready to leave really early in the
13:36
morning if you want a decent drive. So
13:38
[music] like if you were going up on a
13:39
Saturday, if you leave the house at 700
13:42
a.m., you're probably going to have like
13:44
a 2hour and 10-minute drive to
13:46
Breenidge. If you leave at 712 a.m.
13:50
[laughter]
13:51
You could be looking at a 3-hour drive
13:53
to Breen [music] Ridge. just talking to
13:55
a client who says they they do the 500
13:57
a.m. leave time and then they sleep a
13:59
little bit in the parking lot. So that's
14:01
the other thing is like you if you're a
14:04
skier or a snowboarder, you got to
14:06
recognize that there are people who are
14:07
way [music] bigger skier and
14:09
snowboarders than you and they are
14:11
beating you there and [laughter] you
14:13
know there's just a lot of like
14:14
competition to get there.
14:16
Yeah. Now like the mountains are amazing
14:18
and there's tons of hiking, right? So,
14:20
if you're coming for the hiking and you
14:22
just want to be able to get outdoors,
14:24
that's not too bad. There's tons of
14:25
little trails in the foothills and the
14:27
foothills are kind of the beginning of
14:28
the mountains. Tons of access like along
14:31
the front range where you can just hop
14:32
in and you know, [music] like Highlands
14:35
Ranch, we are 20 to 25 minutes away from
14:38
some really nice front range hiking.
14:40
[music]
14:40
Yes.
14:40
And that'll be true in Denver, too,
14:42
right? Like you can get into Golden, you
14:43
can get in all these places. So, the the
14:45
hiking and things are easier to get to.
14:47
Obviously, there's always more if you
14:49
get back in there, but if you're looking
14:50
to be half an hour from the ski run, you
14:52
better be living [music] in Silverthorn.
14:55
Yeah. And, you know, I also just want to
14:57
take a second to say it's worth it for a
14:59
lot of people. Like, for me, that was
15:01
worth the drive for me. [music] And that
15:04
experience, it was to me, I'm like,
15:05
"Okay, yeah, but an hour and a half,
15:07
great. That's amazing. That's
15:09
phenomenal." So many people never have
15:11
access to this. They have to fly in to
15:13
do something like this. So, it's [music]
15:15
still very, very cool. It's just so
15:17
important to have your expectation in
15:18
mind because if you're imagining it
15:20
being super simple, you know, you're
15:22
going to be disappointed, [music] but if
15:24
you can just imagine also having the
15:26
access to getting to something so
15:28
insanely [music]
15:29
cool in a couple hours, then that's a
Denver Wildfire Risk by Location
15:32
great expectation to have.
15:33
Myth [music] number five, wildfires are
15:36
coming to ravage your home and
15:38
community.
15:39
And the answer is, well, maybe. I don't
15:42
think it's as intense as a lot of people
15:44
feel. Now, wildfires [music] are a
15:47
genuine issue in Colorado, and I don't
15:49
want to be dismissive of people who have
15:51
lost their homes, um, because it's a
15:53
very serious and really, [music] really
15:55
sad thing. But I will say, um, typically
15:59
if you are in the Denver area, if you're
16:01
in the Denver suburbs, if you're close
16:02
to the city, if you are not really truly
16:05
out in the mountains, your risk of a
16:07
wildfire coming from your home for your
16:09
home is pretty low. Now, the Marshall
16:12
fire, that's something that happened
16:13
just a few years back. Um, and that was
16:15
in Superior and it was a very suburban
16:18
area and a lot of people lost their
16:20
homes in that. [music] But I would say
16:21
that is more the exception than the
16:24
rule. Usually, you know, if you are
16:26
closer into town, wildfire risks are
16:29
just not really there. We're really
16:31
seeing that be a problem if you [music]
16:33
are living super far west and you really
16:35
need to be paying attention to fire
16:36
mitigation and you know making sure that
16:38
your land is properly prepared and
16:40
mitigated [music] and prepared for
16:41
something like that coming to your home
16:43
and that is also something you need to
16:45
be aware for for like insurance [music]
16:47
costs,
16:48
right? That's the insurance is huge. And
16:50
we actually have an entire uh front
16:52
range guide, like a wildfire guide to
16:56
kind of that [music] that spells out
16:57
what areas have what kind of protections
17:00
in place and what kind of uh escape
17:02
routes you have cuz what you want to
17:03
make sure is you have more than one
Colorado Wildfire Insurance & Mitigation
17:04
escape route if you're in one of these
17:06
mountain towns. So, if you comment
17:08
below, we will send you the guide. Um,
17:10
but yeah, the insurance is actually a
17:12
big risk here. So I I just want to
17:15
acknowledge we're kind of saying like
17:17
this one's a myth but it isn't and
17:19
[music] that's true.
17:20
It's dependent on where you are really.
17:22
I just you know for me I've had people
17:24
who are coming and they're buying a
17:25
house in Lone [music] Tree and they've
17:28
asked me about their fire risk and I'm
17:31
like I mean as far as we're talking
17:32
about wildfires you don't really have
17:34
much
17:35
but if you do go into the foothills a
17:37
little way even just a little ways then
17:40
your insurance is probably going to
17:41
double. [music] Um, I've talked to
17:43
folks, you know, I have clients in
17:45
Evergreen who, uh, you know, one guy I
17:48
was talking to, I was like, "Hey, what's
17:49
your insurance?" Just wanted to check in
17:51
because a lot of providers have been
17:52
leaving over the last couple years. And
17:54
she told me $8,000 a year. And I was
17:57
like, "Oh my gosh, that sounds really
17:58
high, but maybe it's not." So, I don't
18:00
know. Let me check in with my insurance
18:02
folks. And I called uh one of my guys
18:04
from State Farm and he was like, "Oh
18:06
yeah, we would quote that at $4,000 a
18:08
year, except we don't write policies
18:10
[music] in Evergreen." And I was like,
18:12
Uh, okay. So, $8,000 then. Yeah. Yeah.
18:15
So, something you got to be careful and
18:17
ready for is like you you [music] need
18:20
your insurance is going to cost you
18:21
more. But if you do the proper
18:23
mitigation around your home, which is
18:25
like clearing your home a certain amount
18:28
around from all trees and brush and and
18:31
plants, you know, it actually does
18:33
really decrease how the odds of you
18:35
losing your home in a fire. you know, if
18:37
you put rock around your home,
18:39
um, and do things like, if you do what
18:41
you're supposed to do, then your home's
18:43
going to be a lot safer and your odds
18:45
of, you know, getting wildfire way less.
When to Call a Denver Real Estate Agent
18:48
Bonus myth number six, you should not
18:51
reach out to a Denver real estate agent
18:54
until you're here, cuz you don't want to
18:55
waste their time.
18:56
Oh, total myth. You should actually
18:58
reach out right now. Send us a text
19:00
message, drop a comment, [music] and we
19:03
would love to connect with you. It's
19:04
actually a great idea. the the more head
19:07
start we have, we can help you plan and
19:09
strategize and help un you understand
19:13
which part of town is going to be best
19:14
for you. So, reach out immediately.
19:17
We're Jake and Megan Fredel, your
19:18
full-time real estate agents, part-time
19:20
tour guides to everything sound living.
19:23
And we've got more videos for you with a
19:25
plethora of information, but we're most
19:26
excited to hop on a phone call with you
19:28
and get you right in your right exact
19:30
place in [music] Denver.
19:31
So, thanks for watching and we'll see
19:32
you next time.
-
Q: Do I need tire chains or studded snow tires to drive in Denver during the winter?
A: No, this is a common myth. If you are driving in the Denver suburbs or the city, you generally do not need tire chains or dedicated snow tires. A good set of all-season tires on a front-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle is usually perfectly sufficient year-round. Chains and snow tires are more relevant if you are driving deep into the mountains [01:51], [02:33].
Q: Are Colorado winters constantly brutal and gray?
A: Not at all! While Denver can get significant snowfall and occasional sub-zero temperatures, the snow often melts very quickly because the area gets so much powerful sunshine [06:07]. It's very common to have a heavy snow followed by sunny, 45-to-60 degree patio weather the very next day, meaning the snow rarely lingers and turns into the gray, dirty slush seen in the Midwest [06:20], [07:32].
Q: Is it absolutely necessary to buy a home with a south-facing driveway in Colorado?
A: It's largely a matter of personal preference, not a strict rule. A south-facing driveway will melt snow much faster, saving you from heavy shoveling [08:12]. However, a north-facing driveway means you likely have a south-facing backyard, which provides excellent natural light for the rear windows and a sunny, usable patio during winter days [08:57]. Finding a home with an angled or in-between orientation is also a great compromise [10:23].
Q: How close is Denver to the ski mountains?
A: Many people mistakenly believe Denver is right in the mountains, but it actually takes quite a bit of driving to reach major ski resorts. From the airport (DIA), it takes about 40 minutes just to reach the beginning of the foothills [12:07]. To get to popular ski towns like Breckenridge, Vail, or Winter Park, it usually takes at least 1.5 to 2 hours with no traffic—and significantly longer on busy winter weekends, sometimes upwards of 3 hours [13:08], [13:46].
Q: Will a wildfire threaten my home if I live in the Denver suburbs?
A: If you live in the Denver city limits or standard suburbs (like Lone Tree), your risk of a wildfire directly threatening your home is generally very low [16:02], [17:29]. However, if you move further west into the foothills or mountain towns (like Evergreen), the risk becomes genuine, and you will need to prepare for intensive fire mitigation and significantly higher home insurance costs [16:32], [17:47].
