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Three cooperating volunteer fire departments
were awarded Rural Fire Assistance (RFA) grants through Great
Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in 2004. The Mosca-Hooper
Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) received $4,500, Baca Grande
VFD received $8,000, and Kundalini Fire Management received
$8,000. Each department in turn provided matching funds totaling
ten percent of the grant.
This marked the fifth year in a row that
grant proposals for the Mosca-Hooper and Baca-Grande fire
departments were approved and the second 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. 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.
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 Great Sand Dunes National Park boundaries
plus a number of wildland-urban interface residences. The
Mosca-Hooper VFD provides the primary initial response for
structural fires within the park and is also the first cooperating
department to arrive for wildland fire suppression assistance.
With their 2005 grant, they continued to upgrade their wildland
fire readiness by purchasing PPE, wildland fire fighting tools,
and providing basic and advanced training.
The Baca-Grande Volunteer Fire Department
provides protection for over 1,200 residents over 17 square
miles. The area is growing at a rate of about 9% per year.
Most of the new people seem to move from urban areas and are
unfamiliar with the dangers of wildfire in this 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.
With their 2005 grant, they purchased much needed equipment
including hose and nozzles, a hose monitor, PPE, and chain
saws. These items will help them respond more safely as well
as support neighboring communities and public lands covered
under mutual aid agreements.
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.
In 2005 they experienced a dramatic growth in local coverage
as well as maintaining their commitment to respond to incidents
on neighboring NPS, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service lands. They used their 2005 grant money to
upgrade their PPE stocks and communications capabilities.
Additionally, Kundalini Fire Management
was awarded a Community Assistance Grant in the amount of
$6,000. The grant is helping them to fund fire management
and planning efforts. The first phase of the project was to
begin assessment of participating group’s lands and
determine historic fire regime(s) for each parcel. Then a
specific fire management plan is being initiated for each
group with the following areas of focus:
- Wildland fire hazards and mitigation
- Structural fire protection
- Wildland/Urban Interface complexities
- Ecological Recovery and Restoration
as it applies to reduction of fire hazard
- Fire fighting infrastructure and equipment
- Initial attack/Self reliance Fire Fighter
Training
The grant is also going to be used to fund
fire fighter training to participating groups with courses
to include S-130/190 and initial attack strategy and tactics.
Contact: Jim
Bowman, Chief Ranger
Phone: 719-378-6321 |
