After the fire, the National Resources Conservation Service<\/a>, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners, conducted a damage survey report, estimating it would take about $7 million to perform a range of safety measures on about 120 homes in the path of potential flooding.<\/p>\n Megan Graham, La Plata County spokeswoman, said the NRCS is able to cover 75% of the cost, about $5.3 million. The remaining $1.7 million or so, however, will have to be picked up by property owners, though Graham said the state of Colorado may be able to help cover some of the funding.<\/p>\n The NRCS, as well as a company contracted by the county, are in the design and engineering stage of the project, Graham said, which will include work such as building water barriers and redirecting water channels. The NRCS is also awarding the county about $400,000 to pay for these efforts.<\/p>\n While there is no target start date for construction, she said, \u201cobviously we want to get work done as quickly as possible,\u201d hopefully in time to protect homes from monsoon rains in the summer that can trigger floods.<\/p>\n Chris Tipton, a fire management officer for the San Juan National Forest, said the past year has caused a moment of reflection for the agency after fighting Colorado\u2019s sixth-largest wildfire, leading to conversations around the restoration and resiliency work that needs to be done post-blaze.<\/p>\n