2025 Gilpin County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)
Note: The CWPP Appendices are available in printed form upon request. Email Kimberly Kaufman to print a copy for you for pickup at the Historic Courthouse.
Gilpin County is proactively protecting its communities and infrastructure from wildfire hazards by developing an updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for 2025. The CWPP serves as a guiding document that will assist the County and landowners in making informed decisions with respect to wildfire preparation and management.
Two open houses were hosted for the community to learn about the CWPP, visit with Gilpin County staff and fire department personnel, and ask questions about the CWPP development process. These were held on June 8 and August 8, 2024. The Draft CWPP was open for public review and comment in December of 2024.
Background
Gilpin County contracted SWCA Environmental Consultants to develop a county-wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The primary goal of this effort is to develop an actionable plan that individuals and businesses can use to feel empowered in protecting themselves, their loved ones, and their property.
The CWPP makes recommendations for hazardous fuels reduction, public outreach and education, structural ignitability reduction, and fire response capabilities. The recommended projects are intended to greatly reduce wildfire risk to residents and ensure that communities can live safely in areas of increasing wildfire risk, especially in the area located between wildland and human development (wildland-urban interface).
Through this CWPP effort, Gilpin County and partners aim to plan and implement 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. Much of this work will be achieved through interagency collaboration, working with communities and across ownership boundaries to develop landscape-level wildfire mitigation solutions. To achieve the goals and objectives of this project, a Core Team has been developed that includes emergency response, land and resource management, and community advocate representatives from across the county.
The CWPP will be a guiding document for fire and emergency managers, as well as agencies who manage land within Gilpin County. The CWPP is designed to serve residents, and we encourage your interest and engagement in the process.