A five-year, $9.856 million federal grant to launch the Protecting the Gateway to the Rockies wildfire defense project was awarded to Larimer County this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service for Estes Park and the Big Thompson Canyon corridor.
Interim Fire Chief Warren Jones announced the news on Monday evening at the December meeting of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District Board.
Jones said this grant complements a $9.6 million Community Wildfire Defense grant received by the County and the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed in May 2024 for the Red Feather Lakes Area Wildfire Defense Project.
Together, the two grants will provide the County with more than $20 million to strengthen its wildfire protection in high-risk areas, which are critical to community safety and watershed health, Jones told the Estes Valley Voice.
The Protecting the Gateway to the Rockies wildfire defense project is an initiative of the Big Thompson Watershed Health Partnership which is spearheaded by Peaks to People Water Fund, a broad consortium of organizations including the Big Thompson Watershed Coalition, City of Greeley, Colorado State Forest Service, Estes Valley Land Trust, Estes Valley Watershed Coalition, Larimer Conservation District, Larimer County Conservation Corps, Larimer County Natural Resources, Larimer County Office of Emergency Management, Loveland Fire Rescue Authority, Loveland Water and Power, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Northern Water, The Ember Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. Forest Service.
During Monday’s meeting, Jones credited Jon Lankammer, the EVFPD division chief of support services, for his work with the Partnership to secure the grant, which will allow the EVFPD, Glen Haven and Retreat communities, and the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority to:
- create or improve defensible space on up to 900 properties
- conduct events to address wildfire readiness and home-ignition-zone practices
- treat up to 500 acres of open space and larger parcels
- reduce fuels along seven miles of priority roadways
- host events to help communities manage post-treatment wood debris, and
- improve evacuation plans and procedures.
Funding for these grants is part of $200 million in federal money set aside for 58 wildfire defense projects across 22 states and two tribes. The USDA Forest Service initially announced news about the grant in late September, but due to the 43-day government shutdown that began Oct. 1, administration of the funding had been held up.
Began in 2022 as a $1 billion, five-year competitive grant program funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program helps communities and Tribes plan for and reduce wildfire risk.
The program was designed to prioritize communities that face high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low-income, and have experienced a severe disaster in the last 10 years that has worsened wildfire risk.