Fire Adapted Park County

1. Community Education & Outreach Provide education on wildfire risk, Firewise principles, defensible space, home hardening, evacuation planning, forest stewardship, watershed protection, and natural hazard resilience. Promote science-based stewardship and public understanding of how forests and watersheds influence wildfire behavior, flooding, erosion, water quality, and ecosystem health. 

Community Benefit An informed community is a resilient community. Education empowers residents to reduce risk, protect homes and infrastructure, safeguard forests and watersheds, and foster shared stewardship. 

2. Preparedness & Community Planning Support evacuation planning, emergency notification systems, neighborhood preparedness, land-use planning, and long term natural resource management. Encourage proactive planning that reduces risks from wildfire, flooding, erosion, debris flows, drought, and other hazards. 

Community Benefit Prepared communities respond more effectively, recover more quickly, and protect lives, infrastructure, and natural resources. 

3. Forest Health, Watershed Protection & Fuels Reduction Promote hazardous fuel reduction, defensible space, forest health improvements, protection of stream corridors and natural hydrologic processes, and long-term stewardship of public and private lands. Support restoration where it complements proactive protection. 

Community Benefit Healthy forests and protected watersheds reduce wildfire intensity, protect drinking water, improve habitat, reduce flood hazards, and strengthen ecosystem resilience. 

4. Community Mitigation & Landscape Resilience Projects Coordinate fuel reduction, chipping, defensible space, forest health, watershed protection, flood mitigation, erosion prevention, demonstration projects, hazard assessments, and resilience planning. Enabling resilient communities through education, stewardship, and natural hazard mitigation 

Community Benefit Collaborative projects reduce future risks while protecting communities, infrastructure, watersheds, and natural resources. 

5. Volunteer Engagement & Community Stewardship Engage volunteers in education, mitigation, forest stewardship, watershed protection, committee work, and community events while fostering stewardship of Park County's natural landscapes. 

Community Benefit Volunteer engagement builds stronger communities, develops leadership, and strengthens long-term stewardship. 

6. Coordination & Strategic Partnerships Collaborate with fire districts, emergency management, Fire Adapted Colorado, CSFS, CFRI, CUSP, USFS, DFPC, CWCB, NRCS, conservation districts, nonprofits, agencies, and community organizations. 

Community Benefit Strong partnerships leverage expertise, funding, and resources to maximize community impact. 

7. Resource Development & Fundraising Develop grants, donations, sponsorships, fundraising events, and strategic partnerships to support education, preparedness, forest health, watershed protection, mitigation, and organizational sustainability. 

Community Benefit Sustainable funding enables larger projects, matching funds, innovation, and long-term community resilience

Mission

Fire Adapted Park County (FAPCo) is dedicated to building wildfire-resilient communities, healthy forests, and resilient watersheds throughout Park County through education, collaboration, mitigation, restoration, and stewardship of our natural landscapes.

FAPCo works to reduce the risks posed by wildfire and other natural hazards by supporting science-based land management, community preparedness, forest restoration, and watershed resilience. Recognizing that healthy ecosystems provide the foundation for safe and sustainable communities, the organization promotes projects that protect lives, property, critical infrastructure, water resources, wildlife habitat, and the natural character of Park County.

Our mission is achieved through four interconnected goals:

* Help Park County communities safely coexist with wildfire and other natural hazards.

* Promote proactive wildfire preparedness, risk reduction, and community resilience.

* Support healthy forests through responsible stewardship and restoration practices that reduce hazardous fuels while improving ecological function.

* Protect and restore watersheds by encouraging projects that reduce post-fire flooding, erosion, debris flows, and other hazards while improving watershed health and natural hydrologic processes.

FAPCo recognizes that wildfire resilience, healthy forests, functioning watersheds, and informed residents are inseparable.

Forest conditions directly influence wildfire behavior, while severe wildfires can dramatically affect watershed health through erosion, flooding, sediment transport, degraded water quality, and damage to public infrastructure.

By working collaboratively with residents, local governments, fire districts, conservation organizations, watershed groups, and public agencies, FAPCo promotes integrated solutions that strengthen both ecological resilience and community safety.

The organization's mission extends throughout Park County. FAPCo supports efforts wherever wildfire, forest health, watershed degradation, flooding, erosion, or other landscape-scale hazards threaten communities, infrastructure, or natural resources.

Through education, partnerships, volunteer engagement, and strategic investments, FAPCo helps create landscapes that are more resilient to wildfire, climate variability, and other natural disturbances while safeguarding the water resources upon which Park County and Colorado depend.

Background Statement

Fire Adapted Park County was founded in 2018 under the name Fire Adapted Bailey, created by local residents who recognized the urgent need for wildfire preparedness in our mountain communities.

As our programs grew and neighboring communities asked for support, our leadership voted in 2026 to expand our mission county‑wide.

Today, Fire Adapted Park County continues the same mission we started with: helping people understand their wildfire risk and take meaningful, practical steps to reduce it.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Fire Adapted Park County

other names

Fire Adapted Bailey

Year Established

2018

Tax id (EIN)

82-5016282

Category

Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness & Relief

Organization Size

Small Organization

Address

PO BOX 4
BAILEY, CO 80421

Service areas

Park, CO, US