Apply

If you are a homeowner living in the wildfire zone of Boulder County, you are eligible for our program.  The wildfire zone is defined as west of Highways 36 and 93.  City of Boulder residents are not eligible.

Our application form takes about five minutes to complete. We process applications twice a month. We will notify you via email whether or not you have been accepted.

Submit Payment and Waiver

Upon being accepted, we will email you a waiver to review and digitally sign and a link for payment.  If you are new to our program, the assessment is free.

The waiver releases liability to our mitigation specialists while performing assessments at your property and the county from liability in case of wildfire.

You must submit the waiver before calling us to schedule the initial mitigation assessment.

Schedule an Assessment

Once you have submitted your waiver to us, you are ready to schedule your mitigation assessment. Initial assessments take about 2 hours, and at least one homeowner must be present.

During the summer and fall, we schedule assessments Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

During the assessment, a Mitigation Specialist will walk your property with you, taking photos and making notes.  They will then mark vegetation and trees for removal with blue paint. Within two weeks, you will receive a comprehensive report detailing required and recommended actions for certification.

Perform Mitigation Work

Now comes the hard part.  Your mitigation work will fall under two categories — forestry work and home retrofit work.

Many homeowners may be eligible for financial awards for forestry work. Each homeowner will be afforded the opportunity to use a financial award only once. You will be notified of your eligibility when you receive your assessment report. To obtain approval for using your award, you will need to get a bid from one of our approved forestry contractors and email it for approval to info@wildfirepartners.org.  Once we have approved your bid, you can schedule your contractor to do the work.

We do not provide financial assistance for home retrofit work.  You are free to choose a contractor you already know, or do the work yourself.

There is no deadline for completion of your required mitigation items to get certification.

Final Inspection

Final inspections take one hour to complete and are usually done by the same mitigation specialist who did your initial assessment.

Upon passing your final inspection, you will receive an email with a reporting form.  The form is your way to detail the time and expenses you incurred while mitigating your property.  This data helps us secure funding for the program for the next year.

If you do not pass your final inspection, your mitigation specialist will identify the items that need to be addressed.  Once you’ve completed that mitigation work, please contact us for next steps.

Your Wildfire Partners Certificate

Once you have passed your final inspection, you will receive your Wildfire Partners certificate and yard sign.

Wildfire mitigation is an ongoing process, not a one-time event.  You will need to maintain your mitigation to keep it effective.  We recommend most homeowners get a re-certification assessment every 2-3 years. We charge $100 for a re-certification assessment.

Congratulations!  You are now part of a growing community of homeowners in Boulder County making their community safer against the threat of wildfires.