CCCFPD Forming CWPP Implementation Committee

By Jody Dickson, CCCFPD Community Outreach Team

First we want to say THANK YOU to everyone who came to participate in the Focus Groups in June.  We’ve been thrilled with the response and to see many of the Plan Units jumping in with both feet to make progress on the recommendations of the CWPP for their neighborhoods.  Your participation is what makes this possible and effective, so thank you!

Along with the Plan Unit work, as I shared in the May article, the CCCFPD has decided to form an CWPP Implementation Committee that will be focused on enabling the community to implement the district-wide recommendations (details below) as well as some smaller tasks identified in the CWPP.  The CWPP Implementation Committee will coordinate activity amongst the various agencies like the CSFS, USFS, CDOT, Boulder Wildfire Partners, Jeffco and Gilpin counties, neighboring fire districts, our local utilities, and more that will contribute to the large-scale projects and help us complete the smaller tasks.. 

The committee will be primarily made up of community members which is where you can help!!  The CCCFPD only has two paid positions.  The rest of the department are volunteers who in addition to responding to emergencies have hours upon hours of training and related work to do in addition to other work and responsibilities. Needless to say, they are all very busy, and we need them to focus on the things they need to. Meanwhile, those of us on the CWPP Implementation Committee can help make their jobs easier by getting the CWPP recommendations done. 

In case you missed the Focus Group meetings, we shared the top priorities for district-wide mitigation efforts. (Section 4.c, Page 147 in the CWPP)  These are the recommended projects that would have the greatest impact on our community’s safety as a whole. Consequently, you won’t be surprised that the top three have to do with our ability to evacuate and the CCCFPD’s ability to get additional resources to any fire: #1) Highway 72 Fuel Reduction #2) Gross Dam / Flagstaff Road Fuel Reduction #3) Twin Spruce / Gap Road Fuel Reduction.  After that we have a landscape-scale fuel reduction in the Black Gulch area due to the densely populated neighborhoods just above it.  Then we have two treatments around Communication Towers which are critical for the Fire Department and supporting agencies to be able to communicate to each other in a response to a fire.  There are other additional infrastructure protection recommendations after that. 

If you have interest in supporting the effort to get these projects done OR if those sound too daunting and you want a smaller task, then the CWPP Implementation Committee needs you!!  As always, there is something for everyone no matter how much time you have or what skills you bring to the table.  This is also a great opportunity to learn new skills.  We need your help.  If you are interested in joining the CWPP Implementation Committee, please contact us at CWPPforCCC@gmail.com.  Dedicated attention to implementation is something we’ve never had before and will have a real impact on ensuring the work gets done to make our community safer and more resilient in the event of a wildfire.

All of that said, it is very important to us that we do not distract from the Plan Unit activity with the Community Ambassadors, so if that is your passion then please stick with it.  Needless to say, the Plan Unit activity and the CWPP Implementation Committee work will overlap, so we will be able to help each other. 

Don’t forget: links to the full CWPP and many related resources are available on our website at www.CoalCreekCWPP.org. The CWPP Community Outreach Team and Community Ambassadors are here to help you connect with the resources you need.  If you have any questions please contact your Community Ambassador or us at CWPPforCCC@gmail.com. Thank you, again, for your fantastic support and activity to get this work done.