COMMUNITY UPDATE & SURVEY

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The five jurisdictions that make up the Clear Creek Fire Authority—the municipalities of Empire, Georgetown, Idaho Springs and Sliver Plume and Clear Creek County—have been meeting over the past year to discuss the budget and staffing challenges for the fire authority. The jurisdictions are working collaboratively to identify ways to address the authority’s funding needs and now would like feedback from the community to help guide future decisions.

At a glance:
CCFA Operations and Budget

  • CCFA provides a high level of service and quick response times—but will need additional funding to maintain current service levels.

  • CCFA operates on a smaller tax base and with lower budgets for its population and service area compared to similar fire agencies.

  • CCFA has been dealing with declining tax revenue, primarily from the reduction in operations at the Henderson Mine, causing CCFA to use its emergency reserve to maintain current service levels.

  • Service calls and emergencies, including along Interstate 70, have increased significantly over the past decade, including a 37 percent increase from 2019 to 2022.

  • CCFA can no longer depend on volunteer firefighters and must transition to more paid (full-time) firefighters to ensure proper staffing and coverage levels.

The Clear Creek Fire Authority (CCFA) was formed in 1998 to provide “greater fire protection and emergency services” for the municipalities of Empire, Georgetown, Idaho Springs and Silver Plume and most of the unincorporated areas of Cleark Creak County through its Emergency Services General Improvement District (ESD).

A small portion of the county is served by Evergreen Fire.

CCFA provides a high level of service to more than 9,000 residents and businesses across the authority’s 348-squaremile service area. This includes service along the Interstate 70 corridor and national forest and river areas. The authority answered more than 1,460 emergency calls in 2023 and is on pace for more than 2,200 calls in 2024. Of those calls, CCFA responded within 8 minutes more than 33 percent of the time.

While CCFA continually works to provide the highest level of service and quick response times, the agency is facing significant budget issues due to reductions in operations at the Henderson Mine.