Boulder County Forest Health Outreach eNewsletter – Feb. 21, 2014
Today’s Forest Health Outreach update covers the following:
*Forestry Tip of the Day: The Benefits of Wildfire Partners
*$10,000 Prize is up for Grabs – Encourage Your Neighbors to Apply

*Forestry Tip of the Day: The Benefits of Wildfire Partners
Forestry Tip of the Day: Applications for Wildfire Partners have been steadily rolling in from residents throughout the foothills. Over 200 folks have already applied. Have you applied yet for your share of the $250,000 in rebates available to those who become Wildfire Partners? This is the largest amount of funding Boulder County has ever had available to offer homeowners to perform wildfire mitigation. Don’t wait! Enrollment is limited. Apply online by visiting www.WildfirePartners.org. Applications are due by March 3, 2014.

Here are a few of the benefits Wildfire Partners offers you:

• An individual, on-site, wildfire home assessment with a Wildfire Mitigation Specialist – You will interact one-on-one with your specialist to learn about all aspects of proper mitigation. Your Wildfire Specialist will not only examine the landscaping and tree density around your home but they will also look at your home’s construction and provide direction on how to best retrofit your home. The assessment, valued at $250, will be provided at a charge of $25 (March-July) and $50 (August-December) and is estimated to take two to four hours to complete.
• After the home assessment is complete each participant will receive a customized report that identifies the weak links in your home’s defenses – The report will specify precisely what actions you need to take to reduce your vulnerability to wildfire. The report will include pictures of vulnerabilities on your property that need to be mitigated.
• $300 in rebates for every Wildfire Partner and additional need and merit-based rebates for some participants. Complete details on rebate eligibility are available on our webpage.
• See even more benefits by visiting “Why You Should Become a Wildfire Partner”.

Why did we launch Wildfire Partners is in the middle of winter? We launched the program during winter so we can start offering wildfire site visits as soon as the snow melts. Hot, dry summer weather is just around the corner and we want program participants to understand their wildfire risk before smoke is in the air. The fire on Flagstaff earlier this week serves as a good reminder that fires can occur any time of year. Don’t wait to ask for assistance. If you wait, we may not be able to assist you during our inaugural year.

*$10,000 Prize is up for Grabs – Encourage Your Neighbors to Apply
Encourage your neighbors to apply to Wildfire Partners for a chance to win $10,000! Wildfire mitigation is more effective when neighbors work together. If your neighbor becomes a Wildfire Partner, you and your community will benefit.

We are offering a $10,000 prize to the largest contiguous block of neighbors who apply to be Wildfire Partners. The $10,000 prize will be divided evenly among the winning team of neighbors. So get out there and talk to your neighbors about wildfire mitigation and encourage them to apply!

Complete details about the prize including eligibility requirements are available here: http://www.wildfirepartners.org/10000-prize/. What team of neighbors will win the cash? Will it be you?

Cheers,
Ryan
Ryan Ludlow | Forestry Education & Outreach Coordinator 
Boulder County | Land Use Department
O: 720.564.2641 | F: 303.441.4856
rludlow@nullbouldercounty.org | www.bouldercounty.org/ForestHealth
*Please visit our website to join our Forest Health Outreach eNewsletter. Learn about upcoming forestry workshops, wildfire mitigation, bark beetle management tips and more!