The Gilpin Wildfire Council met on February 22, 2024, at Timberline Fire Station 3 (Fritz Peak Observatory) to discuss the upcoming CWPP process and wildfire mitigation projects.

The Council is an interagency organization that includes representatives from US Forest Service, Colorado State Forest Service, Black Hawk Fire, Timberline Fire, Colorado State Parks, and Gilpin County.

Timberline Fire Chief Paul Ondr wrote that the group had some good conversations about the upcoming Gilpin County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) process and what their individual expectations of the final CWPP were.

The Council spent the rest of the time looking at county maps and discussing mitigation projects that have been completed and ones they want to see developed. This information is being compiled by the Gilpin County Office of Emergency Management, where it will be passed on to SWCA Environmental Consultants, the consultants of the CWPP project. Then it can be further discussed and become part of the Gilpin CWPP.

The Gilpin County website for the CWPP (gilpincounty.colorado.gov/news-article/gilpin-county-community-wildfire-protection-plan-update) identifies the aim of the CWPP as the “planning and implementation of successful wildfire mitigation actions, including hazardous fuel treatment projects on public and private land; organizing public outreach and education; and better preparing communities that are at high to extreme risk of wildfire by utilizing the Fire Adapted Community concepts.”

Sheriff Kevin Armstrong (karmstrong@gilpin.county.org) or SWCA project manager Rob Fenwick (Robert.Fenwick@swca.com) can be contacted if there are any questions about the 2024 Gilpin CWPP project and how it will be developed.