Building Relationships – Fostering Collaboration
This Wildfire Awareness Month, we are encouraged by our on-the-ground Wildfire Community Preparedness Day projects, through a $10,000 award from the National Fire Protection Association® supported by State Farm®.
There is also good news from Round Two Funding through Community Wildfire Defense Grant Awards, which gained much-needed traction in Colorado this award cycle. USDA awards for Colorado projects were just under $28M, approximating 11% of Round Two funding. 2024 Wildfire Mitigation Outreach project funding, totaling $300,000 was also recently announced, funding 12 projects to conduct outreach among landowners in high wildfire hazard areas.
Building relationships and fostering collaborations are essential in addressing complex challenges like wildfires. The Fire Adapted Colorado (FACO) network recognizes the importance of bringing together various stakeholders, from community members to subject matter experts, to work towards better wildfire outcomes. Networking allows for the exchange of knowledge, resources, and experiences, ultimately strengthening the collective capacity to mitigate wildfire risks and enhance community resilience. As the saying goes, sometimes it’s not about being the expert yourself, but rather knowing who to turn to for expertise and support. This collaborative approach can indeed propel toward successful outcomes by leveraging the strengths and capabilities of diverse partners. Visit our website, to learn more and to Join the FACO Network!
Colorado’s state-wide network for Wildfire
Some of the many ways the Fire Adapted Colorado team is supporting network participants:
- Network Calls, In-Person Meetups, Resource Sharing and Mentorship
Learn more about the benefits and expectations of patriating in Colorado’s Network for Wildfire Resilience!
- Opportunity Fund Awards
2024 FACO Opportunity Fund Awards
Awardee Project Description Amount Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Services Office Training Support for the Poudre Canyon Fire Mitigation Tool Library $1,800.00 Poudre Canyon Fire Protection District Mitigation Tool Library $5,000.00 Mile High Youth Corp Intermediate Chainsaw Training Collaboration $4,444.00 Spanish Peaks Alliance for Wildfire Protection Southern Colorado Ambassador Program Wildfire Workshops $4,840.00 Roaring Fork Valley Wildfire Collaborative Summer Education Series & Wildfire Ready Watersheds Project Match w/BLM $5,000.00 Eagle Valley Wildfire Collaborative Bellyache Ridge HOA Open Space Mitigation Project $3,000.00
- Wildfire Community Preparedness Day projects awarded through FACO
With notification coming in the middle of providing Neighborhood Ambassador orientation training on coordinating and leading wildfire mitigation efforts to 74 WUI residents, we quickly turned around the opportunity for these Ambassadors to propose spring mitigation and training projects along with their neighborhood launch plans. We’ll provide financial awards to 14 projects, including installing address signage, an evacuation drill, HIZ evaluation, and vegetation management around homes and condominiums, roadside thinning projects, chipping projects, and a fire fair.
Neighborhood Name Project Name Coordinator Award Amount Spread Eagle Homeowners Association (SEHOA) Spread Eagle Homeowners Association Chipper Event Dawn Lervik $1,000.00 Sangres de Cristo Ranches Sangres de Cristo Ranches Chipping Event Dawn Lervik $595.00 Glade Park Wildfire Mitigation Co-op Glade Park Wildfire Mitigation Co-op Fire Fair Ellis Thompson $595.00 South Redlands – Rosevale South Redlands-Rosevale Education & Property Clean Up Ellis Thompson $1,000.00 Moon Hill Meadows Moon Hill Meadows Chipper Event Josh Hankes $250.00 Henderson Park Henderson Park Chipping Event Josh Hankes $400.00 Elk Ridge Elk Ridge Josh Hankes $595.00 Wildridge/Wildwood Wildridge/Wildwood Signage Outreach Project Katie Jenkins $595.00 Morrissey Mountain Springs Ranch Chipping Rental & Outreach Angie Davlyn $595.00 Midland Park Place Midland Park Place Outreach Program Katie Jenkins $595.00 Eby Creek Mesa Eby Creek Mesa Outreach Project Katie Jenkins $250.00 Wonderland Hill IV Wonderland Hill IV Outreach Events Steve Orr $500.00 Wonderland Hilli IV, Boulder Watershed Collective Wonderland Wildfire Community Outreach Event Steve Orr $300.00 Indian Creek NoFloCo Posse New Chains for saws Lara Thomas $500.00
- Neighborhood Ambassador Approach (NAA) Training Program
A Pre-Conference two-day Building Your FAC Neighborhood Ambassador Approach workshop, led by Wildfire Adapted Partnership, is being offered September 30th – October 1st, followed by the 2024 Colorado Wildland Fire Conference. Register as a conference add-on or register to attend the FAC NAA workshop if you aren’t able to attend the full conference.
The Neighborhood Ambassador Approach can enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of wildfire mitigation efforts. By bridging the gap between individual residents and the broader local mitigation infrastructure, this approach can facilitate better coordination, communication, and amplify existing programs, including Firewise USA®.
Find out more about the FAC Neighborhood Ambassador approach.
- Colorado Wildland Fire Conference
The first Colorado Wildland Fire Conference was held in Lakewood, Colorado in 1997, by a small group of local, county and state fire service personnel who saw the need to develop a first-of-its-kind Colorado Wildland Fire Conference with the intent to educate, train, and better prepare those involved with the planning, mitigation and operations in the wildland-urban interface.
The Colorado Wildland Fire Conference now emphasizes the Fire Adapted Communities concept and seeks to involve all stakeholders that play a role in increasing wildfire resilience in communities and landscapes in Colorado. The Colorado Wildland Fire Conference is currently held every 18 months. Our upcoming conference will be held in Snowmass, October 1-4, 2024.
Community Wildfire Defense Grant Awards
We are excited by the amazing projects and proposed plans expecting these awards. It’s FACO’s understanding that these awardees have not yet received official notice in Colorado. CSFS had a recent personnel change for the lead on CWDG for Colorado, so they’re sorting through responsibilities as quickly as possible and hope to have award letters out in mid-June.
| Partner | Funding | Project Title / Description |
| Allenspark Fire Protection District | $100,000 | Allenspark FPD CWPP Update Update the Allenspark Fire Protection District (AFPD) CWPP following several recent fires. CWPPs and their equivalents are collaborative planning efforts intended for providing the community, however it may be defined in the plan, a way for reducing their wildfire risk and building resiliency to the impacts of wildfires. CWPP’s are an integral piece of helping communities implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. |
| Beulah Fire Protection and Ambulance District | $7,010,750 |
Beulah Fire Fuels Reduction Project |
| Colorado Rio Grande Restoration Foundation (CRGRF) | $250,000 |
Conejos & Costilla County CWPP |
| The Ember Alliance | $116,966 | Red Feather Lakes CWPP $116,966 to update the Red Feather Lakes Area CWPP. CWPPs and their equivalents are collaborative planning efforts intended for providing the community, however it may be defined in the plan, a way for reducing their wildfire risk and building resiliency to the impacts of wildfires. CWPP’s are an integral piece of helping communities implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. |
| Estes Valley Fire Protection District | $555,000 | Estes Valley Fire-Thunder Mountain Project Mitigate the risk of wildfire and protect the water supply system in Estes Valley through the treatment of 200 forested acres. |
| Huerfano County | $180,000 | Huerfano County CWPP Development Develop a CWPP for Huerfano County. CWPPs and their equivalents are collaborative planning efforts intended for providing the community, however it may be defined in the plan, a way for reducing their wildfire risk and building resiliency to the impacts of wildfires. CWPP’s are an integral piece of helping communities implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. |
| Larimer County Office of Emergency Management | $9,696,438 | Red Feather Lakes Area Wildfire Defense Project To implement wildfire mitigation treatments in open space, along roadways and on private properties; education on home ignition zone concepts and mitigation work to establish or improve defensible space; improvements to evacuation routes, plans and procedures; enhancing of community capacity of dealing with post-treatment woody biomass; improvements to community wildfire preparedness and building of social capital to improve community resilience. |
| Las Animas County | $197,742 | Las Animas County CWPP Project Create a living document that addresses not only fire but ecosystem health and post- fire strategies in Las Animas County. CWPPs and their equivalents are collaborative planning efforts intended for providing the community, however it may be defined in the plan, a way for reducing their wildfire risk and building resiliency to the impacts of wildfires. CWPP’s are an integral piece of helping communities implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. |
| The Nature Conservancy | $9,878,560 | Protecting communities and critical watersheds in Archuleta County, CO Implement priority wildfire risk reduction projects in Archuleta County. The project will also mitigate wildfire risk to critical source watersheds and critical infrastructure of the San Juan-Chama Project (SJCP) that provides water to cities and irrigators in watersheds that provide 50% Santa Fe’s and 90% of Albuquerque’s drinking water. |
CSFS Wildfire Mitigation Outreach Project Funding
| Applicant | Project Name | County | Award Amount |
| City of Boulder | Home Ignition Zone Instructional Videos | Boulder | $20,600.00 |
| City of Castle Pines | Castle Pines Engagement Workshops and Videos | Douglas | $36,800.00 |
| Colorado Nonprofit Development Center dba Friends of Coal Creek | Fire-wise Gardening Pilot Program – Friends of Coal Creek | Boulder | $8,140.00 |
| Custer County | Wildfire Ready Homeowner Association and Ambassador Outreach | Custer | $16,889.12 |
| Delta County | 2024-2025 Delta County CWPP Update Public Outreach | Delta | $27,000.00 |
| Evergreen Rotary Foundation | Rotary Wildfire Ready Outreach | Boulder, Clear Creek, Jefferson, Park | $19,329.88 |
| Friends of Willow Springs Open Space Inc. | Wildfire Mitigation Outreach 2024 | Jefferson | $21,670.00 |
| Grand County Wildfire Council | Increase Community Engagement to Increase Acres Mitigated | Grand | $8,660.00 |
| Poudre Canyon Fire Protection District | Poudre Canyon Wildfire Community Alliance | Larimer | $69,000.00 |
| Roaring Fork Valley Wildfire Collaborative | 2024 Summer Wildfire Education Series | Garfield, Pitkin, Eagle, Gunnison | $24,142.00 |
| Spanish Peaks Alliance for Wildfire Protection (SPAWP) | SPAWP Neighborhood Wildfire Outreach 2024 | Costilla, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, Teller, Las Animas, Pueblo | $30,169.00 |
| Wildfire Adapted Partnership | Wildfire Risk Education and Outreach in SW CO | Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan | $17,600.00 |
