FireWise SW colorado

Our guess speaker was Bill Trimarco who is Archuleta County Coordinator for FireWise. He gave us an overview of the function of this organization. FireWise Southwest Colorado is a citizen based council created to promote wildfire preparedness, mitigation, and education. It is a non-profit that has been serving the five county region of southwest Colorado since 2003. FireWise works closely with a variety of partners including Colorado State Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Offices of Emergency Management and local Fire Protection Districts. The FireWise mission is to strive to keep lives, homes and property from being damaged by wildfires and provide education, planning and fire mitigation support to facilitate wildfire preparedness in our neighborhoods. Mr. Trimarco informed us of the Neighborhood Ambassadors program which is the backbone of the organization. These volunteer ambassadors serve as catalyst within their neighborhoods and encourage their neighbors to become aware, active and prepared for wild fires. Ambassadors receive training, support and ongoing education; access to wild fire information experts; and notice of grant opportunities. Anyone can sign up to become an ambassador at southwestcoloradofires.org.