BOULDER, Colo., July 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lefthand Fire Protection District, the organization providing structural and wildland fire protection, first responder medical services and wildfire mitigation services, to residents living in and visitors to the rural foothills and mountain areas of western Boulder County, today announced Break Ground 2020, a $2 million fundraising campaign to construct a larger fire, rescue, district administration and community resource center. 

“After construction during the 1950s and more than 40 years of occupancy, our current station has reached the end of its useful life,” said Russell Leadingham, LHFPD chief. “Having a bigger and more modern station staffed with additional firefighters and emergency responders provides quicker response times to fires and other emergencies across our communities throughout Boulder County.”

For almost 40 years, LHFPD staff and volunteers have protected residents of and visitors to the district’s 52 square miles of ridges, canyons and plains, 70% of which is open space and non-tax revenue generating land for the district. The Break Ground 2020 campaign seeks both public and private funding for the construction of a new fire, rescue, district administration and community resource center that improves the Fire Protection District’s emergency response efforts in the area, as well as provides space to house responders for enhanced response during wildfire events.

Twice the size of the city of Boulder, the Lefthand Fire Protection District includes 34 square miles of public land, as well as one of the main water supplies for both residents and agriculture from the Lefthand Creek watershed. Over the years, the level of activity of campers, hikers, and on- and off-road cyclists enjoying this unique area has grown, with the district seeing 43,000 daily vehicle trips on Highway 36, 1,000 daily vehicle trips on the Peak to Peak Highway, 1,400 daily vehicle trips in Lefthand Canyon and 200 daily bicycle trips in the canyon, a number that significantly escalates during the summer months.

“With the spread of COVID-19, an increasing number of individuals are seeking recreation activities in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, as well as in both Boulder City and Boulder County open space that the areas of our Fire District provide. We’ve thus witnessed a massive increase in the number of hikers, bikers and campers in the canyon” said Bob Young, a longtime district resident helping the Break Ground 2020 committee raise awareness to the effort. “As use of the canyon grows at an accelerated pace, the fire district has to continue to expand to meet the ever-growing demand.”

To aid in this endeavor, LHFPD has partnered with local residents and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to expand opportunities and resources in the Lefthand service area. LHFPD and the local community have also been active in Wildfire Partners, a mitigation program to help homeowners prepare for wildfires. The district is also home to the first Firewise USA®-recognized site in Boulder County.

For more information about Lefthand Fire Protection District or the organization’s Break Ground 2020 campaign, please visit lefthandfire.org/. 

About LHFPD

Built by the community to serve the community, Lefthand Fire Protection District has been protecting residents living in, as well as visitors to, the mountain rural foothills and mountain areas of western Boulder County, Colorado for the last 40 years. Spanning 52 square miles of rugged ridges, canyons and plains, LHFPD serves more than a dozen mountain and foothill communities with three full-time staff and 40 volunteers. The district is also home to the first Firewise USA®-recognized site in Boulder County. The organization provides structural fire protection, first responder medical services and wildland firefighting, as well as mitigation and homeowner services and a national large incident response program. For more information, please visit http://www.lefthandfire.org/. 

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