TEENS, Inc. Youth Corps summer employment and conservation crews provided essential wildfire mitigation services

Boulder County, Colo. - Wildfire Partners proudly wrapped up our 2024 collaboration with TEENS, Inc. Youth Corps, a local summer employment and conservation program for youth ages 14–17. Over the course of our partnership, the youth crews provided essential wildfire mitigation services to ten homeowners and two mobile home parks. The crews accomplished long deferred wildfire mitigation measures for community members unable to perform or pay for the work themselves.

Peggy Kuhn, a resident of Sans Souci Manufactured Home Community, commended the crews: “They immensely helped make Sans Souci, a park of 85 plus residents, half of these seniors, a more fire-safe place. Being one block west from the start of the Marshall Fire, it also helps reduce the risk of a similar event occurring.”

In July, youth crews dedicated three weeks to the Marshall Fire burn area. They cleared dangerous vegetation from four properties where homes had been lost and built noncombustible gravel barriers for three families in the process of rebuilding. “I was fortunate enough to work with [Wildfire Partners] and the TEENS, Inc. Youth Corps... the teens were communicative, respectful, and hard working,” said Dave Crawford, a community member who lost his home in the fire. With a generous donation from Colorado Materials Inc., the crews constructed a noncombustible gravel barrier to increase the resiliency of Dave’s new home to wildfire.

In addition to directly supporting individual homeowners, the youth crews collaborated with Fourmile Fire Department to establish a crucial fuel break and mitigate the Wall Street fire station. These efforts bolstered disaster preparedness for a community all too familiar with wildfire – in 2010, the Fourmile Canyon Fire destroyed 169 homes.

While providing these essential services, the youth crews gained invaluable professional development experience. Key, a 19-year-old crew member shared: “This summer, I was able to visit and learn about communities I hadn't interacted with before... Wildfire Partners provided me with several different opportunities to take charge and lead the crew, which greatly helped develop my personal skills in leadership. Now, I’m excited to take those skills and apply it to a career focused on environmental justice.”

We thank TEENS, Inc. for their partnership and look forward to continuing our efforts with Mile High Youth Corps this fall.

The program is funded by the Boulder County Wildfire Mitigation Tax and Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network (FAC Net). View the Wildfire Partners website for more information.

Crews from TEENS, Inc. remove vegetation and combustible debris around homes in Columbine Mobile Home Park.

Crews from TEENS, Inc. help build a noncombustible gravel barrier for a family who is rebuilding their new home in the Marshall Fire burn area.