Neguse Secures $358,000 in Federal Funds for Jefferson County Wildfire Risk Reduction Efforts

Washington, D.C.—This week, Congressman Joe Neguse secured $358,000 in federal funding to support wildfire risk reduction efforts in Jefferson County. The funds would support fuel reduction operations across 85 acres that would mitigate wildfire risk and help protect local and regional water supplies.

In total, Congressman Neguse secured over $7 million in funding for community projects in his district that will be funded by Congress in FY 2022.

“As Colorado experiences more destructive and more dangerous wildfire seasons, equipping our emergency response personnel with resources and equipment is absolutely essential,” said Congressman Joe Neguse, Chair of the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus. “I’m grateful to secure funding for wildfire risk mitigation efforts in Jefferson County to support forest restoration efforts. These funds will help prevent future fires from burning as intensely and reduce the cost of suppression efforts down the road.”

“Jefferson County ranks number one in Colorado in the number of homes in high and extreme risk wildfire areas. Landscape-scale and multi-jurisdictional partnerships like the Community Project Funding initiative are crucial in mitigating our risk,” said Jefferson County Board of Commissioners Chair Andy Kerr. “We're grateful to Rep. Neguse's office for his support on this and other wildfire mitigation endeavors.”

Neguse submitted several Community Project Funding requests to the Appropriations Committee, and has had remarkable success advocating for projects in Colorado’s 2nd District. This Jefferson County wildfire risk reduction effort is one of the 10 Neguse-sponsored projects to be funded by this round of appropriations.

Background:

Throughout the west communities are burning and every year they become more susceptible to the extreme and hazardous conditions linked to recent historic wildfire seasons. In Colorado’s Second Congressional District alone there have been three disastrous fires in the past two years – the Cameron Peak Fire, the East Troublesome Fire, and the Marshall Fire – all of which have pushed Coloradans to a breaking point. Congressman Neguse has been instrumental in ensuring that his affected neighbors are equipped with the resources necessary to respond to these threats. Neguse, the Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus, introduced legislation to modernize our Federal wildland firefighting workforce and increase resources for wildfire recovery. Additionally, in the aftermath of the Marshall Fire Neguse worked tirelessly with Colorado Governor Jared Polis, President Joe Biden, and other Colorado Representatives in Congress to secure proper cost coverage for victims of the fire.