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Three cooperating volunteer fire departments were awarded Rural Fire Assistance (RFA) funding through Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in 2004. The Mosca-Hooper Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) received $8,000, Baca Grande VFD received $7,000, and Kundalini Fire Management received $9,000. This marked the fourth year in a row that grant proposals for the Mosca-Hooper and Baca-Grande fire departments were approved and the first year for Kundalini.
Great Sand Dunes National Park maintains mutual aid agreements with each of these local volunteer fire departments. The NPS responds to fires on adjacent lands and communities and in turn relies on assistance from these VFDs to respond to fires within the Park. At times these fire departments are the only firefighting resources available to help and are always the first to arrive. The RFA money will improve their capabilities and accordingly provide improved fire protection for Great Sand Dunes.
The Mosca-Hooper Volunteer Fire Department consists of 24 volunteers who provide protection for 360 square miles. Included in their protection district are lands immediately south and west of Park boundaries plus a number of wildand-urban interface residences. Great Sand Dunes maintains a mutual aid agreement with the department for both wildland and structural fire protection.
The Baca-Grande Volunteer Fire Department consists of 32 volunteers who provide protection for 1,000 residents over 17 square miles, all of which is in a significant wildland-urban interface situation. This proactive department has aggressively addressed their situation by seeking wildland fire training, conducting workshops for residents, preparing a detailed fire management plan, and addressing fuels problems through prescribed fire and mechanical reduction projects.
When the federal government purchases lands to the west and north of the current Park boundaries, the Baca-Grande development will be an immediate neighbor to our northwest and a vital resource for providing initial attack on future NPS lands. Many of their members have gone out on a number of interagency fires and some have completed advanced training. Kundalini Fire Management is a fledgling fire department that provides services to another portion of the Baca-Grande development in addition to neighboring lands including U.S. Forest Service and NPS administered lands.
Each department in turn will provide matching funds totaling ten percent of the grant. The money will be used to fund prevention efforts and training in wildland firefighting safety, tactics, and supervision. It will also be used to purchase additional personal protective equipment, tools, and other equipment used in wildland fire suppression.
An indirect benefit of the RFA grants has been to improve communication and personal relationships with each department. This facilitates cooperation and interchange in such areas as training and preplanning.
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