Fires, Floods, Snow extremes
Breaking news about Wild Land Fires & Floods and snow storms in the Boulder, Colorado area.
Deadline approaching for public input to Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Jan 6th
Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County is in the process of developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan to help mitigate the impact of future wildfires. The county and its partners are seeking input from residents in the form of policy and programmatic recommendations to be included in the plan and volunteers to serve on the plan’s Advisory Team.
The deadline for submitting recommendations and signing up for the Advisory Team is Wednesday, Jan. 12. Guidelines and submission forms are available at www.BoulderCountyCWPP.org.
“We have already received many important recommendations from residents on our website,” said Jim Webster, Community Wildfire Protection Planner in the Boulder County Land Use Department. “However, we know there are others who have come up with noteworthy ideas during this past year that have not yet shared their recommendations.”
Topics of the recommendations received to date include improving communication, planning evacuation and access routes, educating the public on wildfire mitigation, installing fire danger signs, collecting slash, funding fire suppression, and declaring and enforcing county fire bans.
“After this past year, not many initiatives are of equal importance,” Advisory Team member Kitty Stevenson said. “It is really exciting to see a community plan being developed on a larger countywide scale. It is important that people from all parts of Boulder County participate.”
County seeking input for Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Dec 1st
Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County is in the process of developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan to help mitigate the impact of future wildfires. The plan will contain recommendations for policies, programs, and other actions to reduce the negative effects of wildfires.
The county and its partners are seeking resident input in the form of recommendations to be included in the CWPP and volunteers to serve on the CWPP Advisory Team.
“This is an excellent opportunity for community members who want to make a difference in the aftermath of the Fourmile Canyon Fire,” said Brett Haberstick, Sunshine Fire Protection District Chief and CWPP team member. “Being involved in groups like the CWPP Advisory Team can translate into fewer homes lost and more lives saved during the next fire.”
Recommendations
Guidelines and a submission form are available online. “County residents have many good ideas for how best to protect their community,” said Jim Webster, Community Wildfire Protection Planner in the Boulder County Land Use Department. “We want the plan to include new, original ideas from residents.”
Advisory Team
The team will collect and prioritize the recommendations that are submitted. “In order to be successful, our planning process needs to engage a large number of residents,” Webster said. “Many people would like to serve on a board or committee, but they have never been asked. We are asking interested residents to volunteer for this effort and help their community.”
Members of the advisory team must attend four Wednesday night meetings and complete clearly defined “homework” assignments over a four-month period. More information and application instructions are also available online. No previous wildfire experience is required.
Recommendations and advisory team applications will be accepted until Jan. 12.
SOURCE: BOULDER COUNTY PRESS RELEASE
County creates Fourmile Canyon Fire recovery center Sanfaçon assigned to head up team for fire-related recovery needs and requests
Nov 15th
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Commissioners have established a new Fourmile Canyon Fire recovery center to provide continued support to residents who lost a home or a structure in the September wildfire.
The recovery center will focus on serving residents with questions and issues around rebuilding, debris removal, erosion control, revegetation, transportation (roads and potential flooding), wildfire mitigation, and others as they arise. It will be staffed by a single point of contact to help coordinate rebuilding efforts, but can also refer clients to other services as needed.
“In all of our meetings and discussions with county residents in the Fourmile Canyon Fire area, we heard a strong request for one point of contact to help coordinate post-fire rebuilding efforts,” said Commissioner Ben Pearlman, speaking on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners. “Our goal in establishing this new service is to be able to personally and effectively continue serving the needs of everyone who lost a home or personal property in the fire.”
The county commissioners have designated Land Use Department staff member and Fourmile Canyon Fire community liaison Garry Sanfaçon to lead the effort. Sanfaçon is putting together an outreach and assessment team who will be responsible for the overall coordination of post-fire rebuilding efforts and serve as the county’s principal point of contact for property owners and renters, contractors, fire districts, members of the public, county staff and other agencies.
Sanfaçon and his team are already working on a plan to contact every household that suffered a property loss to discuss their individual needs for rebuilding. “I’m eager to continue working with residents to better understand what’s needed, what’s working and what’s not working in the areas impacted by the fire,” said Sanfaçon, in his new position as the Fourmile Fire Recovery Manager. “My role is to listen, to get out and meet with people on their own terms, and to ensure the county’s recovery response is coordinated and effective.”
Sanfaçon can be reached at 720-564-2642 or gsanfaçon@bouldercounty.org. The recovery center is located in the Land Use Department, Courthouse Annex, 2045 13th Street (corner of Spruce Street) in Boulder.
Requests for individual and family support services, such as financial, housing, health, and mental health counseling, can still be made directly to the Fourmile Fire Assistance Center at 3482 N. Broadway (at Iris) in Boulder, or by calling 303-441-3560. Hours of operation for the assistance center are 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
SOURCE: BOULDER COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
