The U.S. Forest Service is giving more than $26 million to help Colorado communities reduce the risk of wildfires, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, along with U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse, Jason Crow, and Brittany Pettersen, announced Friday.

The money comes from the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program, part of a $5.5 billion effort passed in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve forest health and prepare for wildfires.

The funding will support seven projects across the state, focusing on clearing dangerous fuels, updating emergency plans, and helping homes in high-risk areas become more fire-resistant.

Here’s how the funds will be spent:

• Coalition for the Upper South Platte – $249,290 to update Park County’s 2007 wildfire protection plan to meet current state and federal rules.
• Grand County Wildfire Council – $2.45 million to clear brush over 800 acres west and south of Granby, creating fire breaks that protect the town and connect other safety efforts.
• Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office – $9.67 million to carry out the county’s wildfire plan and run the Sustainable Lands And Safer Homes (SLASH) program, which helps residents protect their property.
• Larimer County Office of Emergency Management – $9.86 million to strengthen defenses in the “Gateway to the Rockies,” a high-risk area near popular mountain trails and towns.
• Roaring Fork Valley Wildfire Collaborative – $865,000 to reduce fire risk in Glenwood Springs and help residents prepare for wildfires.
• The Ember Alliance – $118,814 to create a new wildfire protection plan for the Livermore Fire Protection District in Larimer County.
• White River Conservation District – $531,308 over four years to help at-risk families in eastern Rio Blanco County prepare for wildfires.
• Wildfire Adapted Partnership – $2.57 million to teach residents in Montezuma County about fire safety, help them create defensible space around homes, and support local cost-sharing programs.

Senator Bennet, who chairs a Senate subcommittee on forests and conservation, has long pushed for more funding to protect Colorado’s forests. He recently reintroduced bills to invest $60 billion in forest health across the western United States and speed up recovery after wildfires. He also helped secure $5 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act for forests, and has brought over $160 million in forestry funds to Colorado.

The grants will help protect homes, schools, water supplies, and emergency routes from fast-moving wildfires — a growing threat as impacts from climate change affect forests.

Editor’s note: Portions of this article have been augmented with the assistance of Large Language Models for analysis, with human review, editing, and original material.