Fire Management

Background

In Colorado, each County Sheriff is legally responsible for coordinating wildland fire response in their county. Because Colorado’s landscapes and needs vary widely, this role looks different in each area.
In Boulder County, the history of wildfires, the spread of neighborhoods into wildland areas, and the need to manage county lands have made it necessary to support local fire departments with additional resources.

To meet these needs, Boulder County created a Fire Management Program. This program includes a Fire Management Officer (FMO) and an Assistant Fire Management Officer (AFMO). Other full-time staff include Fire Operations Specialists, Senior Firefighters, and wildland firefighters who work year-round on wildfire response, prescribed burns, and mitigation management.

Mission

We provide efficient, effective, public safety services to the residents and visitors of Boulder County. We deliver these services with character, competence, and open communication. Fire Management acts as the subject matter experts to the Sheriff for wildfire suppression, prescribed burning, fire restriction implementation, and education. Fire Management is responsible for suppression of forest and prairie fires on all unincorporated public lands within the 740 square miles of Boulder County. This includes but is not limited to over 100,000 acres of County Open Space and Land Easements, the Arapahoe-Roosevelt National Forest, and a heavily intermixed Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). The program also closely assists local volunteer and paid fire departments with suppression needs and coordination.

Response

During normal duty hours, Fire Management staffs various fire suppression apparatus to respond to wildland fire threats, with a Fire Duty Officer (FDO) that supplies 24/7 coverage year-round. As the national fire season evolves and with consideration to local staffing levels and fire danger, Fire Management supports our regional and federal partners with suppression efforts around the state and the nation.

In addition to Fire Managements’ two brush-engines, Initial Attack Squad, and the FDO, Boulder County also manages an interagency Type 2 Initial Attack handcrew (T2IA), comprised of firefighters from cooperating fire departments and land management agencies in Boulder County. The purpose of the Boulder County Handcrew is to provide a rapid response of well-trained firefighters to escalating incidents that are normally fulfilled by federal agencies and crews. This program is not only a valuable resource for suppression, but it also provides valuable training and experience to many local firefighters. The handcrew is available to the local, regional, and national levels of fire management.

Planning Prescribed Burns