Insurance News: Colorado Insurance Organization Recognizes Wildfire Partners as Model Community Wildfire Mitigation Program

Denver / November 14, 2016 – Eight Nederland homeowners credit firefighters, along with their participation in Boulder County's Wildfire Partners, for helping save their homes from June's destructive Cold Springs Fire.

In recognition of Wildfire Partners outstanding efforts to save lives and property, the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA) is honoring the community wildfire mitigation program with its annual Alan Miller Spirit Award. The award is presented each year to individuals or organizations committed to reducing property risk and making Colorado communities safer. RMIIA will present the award tomorrow (11/15) at 9 a.m. during All Industry Day at the Hilton DoubleTree Denver Tech Center in Greenwood Village.

"The foundation of Wildfire Partners’ success is the engagement of community partners, such as the insurance industry, from the program’s inception, " says Carole Walker, Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. "But, the real success story being told here is homes saved by homeowners working to reduce their wildfire risk and Wildfire Partners providing them the tools to do that. Wildfire Partners was developed as a community mitigation model and we are now seeing other Colorado communities pattern mitigation programs after Wildfire Partners.”

Wildfire Partners, launched in 2014, is a unique collaborative initiative of more than 35 partner organizations led by Boulder County—its primary goal: assisting homeowners in reducing the threat of wildfire to their properties. 800 homeowners have participated in the program that provides technical expertise with through, onsite property inspections, follow-up visits, a consumer hotline and financial support. Wildfire Partners homeowners spend an average of 60 hours and $2,400 performing mitigation and receive an average of $700 in financial assistance from the program.

“With a hotter and drier climate, we expect to see large increases in the size of future wildfires. Now is the time for everyone to come together and work in partnership to prepare for this risk,” says Jim Webster, Wildfire Partners Program Coordinator for Boulder County. “It is a great honor to receive the Alan Miller Spirit Award. I hope this award will inspire others to replicate Wildfire Partners’ successful approach and build more resilient communities.”  

Wildfire Partners is funded by Boulder County, a $1.25 million FEMA grant and a $1.5 million Colorado Department of Natural Resources grant. 

For more information on Wildfire Partners visit www.wildfirepartners.org
For more consumer information on insurance topics, logon to www.rmiia.org

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Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association is a non-profit consumer information organization. Affiliated with the Insurance Information Institute, RMIIA has been serving consumers and the media since 1952.