Over 250 residents applied for Wildfire Partners pilot program

When asked why they wanted to be a part of Wildfire Partners’ pilot program in eastern Boulder County, one applicant noted that they had been placed under mandatory evacuation for fires three times in the last five years.

Wildfire Partners Program Coordinator Jim Webster said another applicant summed it up in just one word: scared.

After opening up a pilot program for wildfire readiness to residents in unincorporated eastern Boulder County, Wildfire Partners received 258 valid applications from residents. One hundred participants will be selected to receive a free, on-site home assessment with a Wildfire Mitigation Specialist.

“I think it’s a very strong response,” Webster said. “It shows there’s a lot of interest in wildfire mitigation and preparedness.”

Wildfire Partners already assists 3,000 residents in western Boulder County. Mitigation in the foothills and mountains has been a priority for the county since the 1989 Black Tiger Fire — at the time, the most destructive wildfire in terms of property loss and damage in Colorado history.

December’s Marshall fire, which burned down more than 1,000 homes on the plains of Boulder County, is now the state’s most destructive.

“Marshall fire was a game changer,” Webster said. “We have had fires in eastern Boulder County, but the level of destruction with the Marshall fire prompts us to change our approach to mitigation.”

Mitigation in the eastern grasslands will look different than the forested mountains of the western county, with lot sizes and structure separation varying. Through Wildfire Partners, homeowners get customized recommendations from a professional to fortify their property against wildfire.

Most homes are destroyed in wildfires because of embers, which can travel great distances. That means on both sides of the county, mitigation starts with hardening the home and other structures on the property. 

“What we’re really doing in mitigation is reducing the pathways for a fire to get to a house,” Webster explained.

The big difference between the Wildfire Partner pilot program for the eastern part of the county compared to the established western program is that homeowners will only get technical support at this time, so the homeowner has to finance any improvements recommended to them.

There are also a lot more people on the eastern side of unincorporated Boulder County. A full expansion east would require a lot more investment.

“It’ll require resources in terms of staff capacity and funding to be able to bring mitigation programs to the plains,” Webster said. “They don’t exist now, there’s no program, no staff, no resources. We would have to find resources and staffing to be able to do mitigation programs in the east. We’re looking at strategies for that.”

The pilot program did show that the interest is there, Webster said, adding that talks are underway about how more work could be funded in the future. He emphasized that the risk of wildfires across the entire county is not going away and that the public has shown it interested in being prepared.

“We can reduce risk,” Webster said. “If people prepare, they’ll be safer. During evacuations, they’ll know what to do. Then the ignition potential of their home, the chance of igniting it, we can reduce that potential. People are really hungry, thirsty, whatever you want to call it — they want the information on how to prepare.”

Learn more about Wildfire Partners and their offerings at wildfirepartners.org.