Three years after the Marshall Fire, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners is taking a proactive approach to fire mitigation, approving funding for a new Wildland Fire Management Program that will create 37 jobs in the field of wildfire prevention.
A $7 million budget request from Sheriff Reggie Marinelli was approved at the June 24 Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners meeting, which was prompted by the passage of Ballot Measure 1A, which allows Jeffco to retain revenue collected to help fund public safety measures.
The funds will go toward creating a fully staffed wildland fire engine with two eight-person crews, hiring planning and analytics staff, and building out community engagement and risk assessment programs to help Jeffco residents avoid fire risks. The program will also include a grant program that helps residents pay for fire mitigation infrastructure in and around their homes.
“During the fire season, we’re going to have seven-day coverage and staffing for the county, which is something we’ve never had before,” Brian Keating, the Wildland Fire Program manager, said. “We’re going to have a community engagement component to this program, and within there, we’re going to be establishing a county-wide home assessment program.
“So, we’ll work with homeowners, and we’ll send folks out to look at their property, and we’ll provide them with recommendations on what they can do, both in terms of defensible space and home hardening to mitigate the risk of wildfire impacting them,” Keating continued.
Keating said that the $7 million is divided into a $2.3 million one-time capital investment in wildland fire trucks, equipment for crews and other firefighting infrastructure, while there will also be a sustained annual investment of $4.5 million to fund the jobs created by the program.
Those positions will likely start to get filled by August, and Keating hopes to have the program fully staffed by mid-fall.
A spokesperson for the county said that Jeffco ranks higher than 99% of counties nationwide for wildfire danger and is the second-highest at-risk county in Colorado for wildfire danger.
“This initiative represents a significant step forward in our mission to better serve and protect Jefferson County,” Marinelli said. “Wildfire risk is extremely high in our county, and this program will allow us to be more proactive and better equipped to respond to fire-related emergencies.”
Keating said he hopes the program allows the county to support its fire protection districts and other firefighting partners more effectively.
“My goal for this program is really to support our partners,” Keating said. “So we’ve been working very closely with all of the fire protection districts in Jefferson County and the various fire departments at the municipal level to identify what their needs are and what we can do to support them.
“And so everything that I just mentioned in terms of this investment are things that are going to help support them in the work they do, both with fire response, responding to incidents, as well as working in the community to educate and create awareness and help them be more prepared for fire,” Keating continued.
Risk assessments will be carried out by county staffers on an as-requested basis, allowing residents to have a professional appraise their property for fire damage. The program will also include a social media education component.
Jefferson County Board of Commissioners Chair Lesley Dahlkemper praised the decision to fund the Wildland Fire Management Program.
“This is an urgent need in our county, and the Board of Commissioners could not be more supportive of this comprehensive and well-thought-out plan,” Dahlkemper said.