Readers Help Wildfire Victims

Donations from Colorado Country Life readers were part of the nearly $125,000 raised to assist some of those affected by last year’s wildfires.

With so much devastation suffered in electric co-op territory, CREA, the trade association for Colorado’s electric cooperatives, established a wildfire relief fund last November. In February, representatives of CREA’s nonprofit philanthropic organization, the Colorado Electric Educational Institute, distributed the money raised.

Six fire departments that fought the Cameron Peak Fire in Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association’s Larimer County territory each received $6,000 to help restore equipment used in fighting the wildfire.

A donation of $2,500, matched by funds from Holy Cross Energy in Glenwood Springs, was given to the Eagle County Paramedic Service, which was affected by the Grizzly Creek Fire.

The remaining funds were presented to victims and organizations affected by the East Troublesome Fire in Grand County. Checks were presented to two Mountain Parks Electric employees who lost their homes, three MPE employees whose homes were significantly damaged and nine first responders whose homes were either destroyed or damaged by the fire. Checks for $4,125 each were given to the Mountain Family Center and the Grand Foundation to be distributed to other victims. Another $8,000 was given to the Grand Lake Fire Protection District.

Funds raised included $50,000 from the CREA board, which was matched by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. Additional funds were donated by individual electric co-ops, their directors and employees, as well as readers of Colorado Country Life.