Rural fire districts helped by additional federal funds
There are six rural fire protection districts in or near the Pike-San Isabel National Forest (Pike Forest) in Douglas County. Recognizing the need for additional help to manage fires and train responders for medical emergencies and rescue operations, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners awarded $100,000 in federal monies to these fire districts.
The federal government gives these funds, called Payment in Lieu Taxes (PILT), to Douglas County on an annual basis. Similar to many other local governments in the U.S. that have non-taxable federal lands within their boundaries, Douglas County receives PILT funds to help offset losses in local property taxes spent on the utilization of county services on our non-taxable federal lands.
PILT funds were distributed to the six fire districts based on the number of calls they made during the year, an average of $662 per call:
- Mountain Communities Volunteer Fire Protection District: $34,430.33 (52 calls)
- West Douglas Fire Protection District: $21,852.33 (33 calls)
- North Fork Fire Protection District: $24,500.33 (37 calls)
- Jackson 105 Fire Protection District: $10,598.33 (16 calls)
- Larkspur Fire Protection District: $6,626.34 (10 calls)
- West Metro Fire: $1,992.34 (3 calls)
Douglas County is 48% open space with more than 140,000 acres in Pike Forest. Every year since 2002, the county has designated a portion of its PILT money to supplement funding for rural fire districts. For more information, visit douglas.co.us and search “rural fire districts.”
Information provided by Douglas County
