A nonprofit building wildfire resilience across the Ute Pass.
FORGE Ute Pass coordinates the community-wide action that no single homeowner can accomplish alone — protecting every home, every road, and every neighbor in the Pass.
The Ute Pass is home to stunning Colorado mountain scenery — soaring peaks, dense pine forests, and mountain streams — within sight of Pikes Peak. The same steep canyon terrain and dense, beetle-infested forest that makes the Pass so extraordinary also makes it one of the highest wildfire risk corridors in the country.
FORGE exists to protect this place — for the people who live here, and for the generations who will come after them.
Colorado homeowners insurance premiums have risen 130% over the last decade. Non-renewals in mountain communities are up 77% since 2018.
Starting July 2026, Colorado's HB 25-1182 requires insurers to factor community-level mitigation into their risk models — not just individual properties.
A community with a current CWPP, Firewise designation, and documented fuels mitigation can directly improve every home's insurability in the corridor.
FORGE's work is not just about saving homes from fire — it is about keeping them financially viable for the people who live in them.
The community's 2007 CWPP is badly outdated. A current CWPP opens the door to grant opportunities.
FORGE is building the coordination, the planning, and the volunteer capacity to change that.
© 2025 FORGE Ute Pass · 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization
El Paso County & Teller County, Colorado
FORGE will update and create a Ute Pass CWPP — the foundational document required for all state and federal grant funding. The existing Fire District CWPP was written in 2007. A current CWPP opens the door to grant opportunities.
Hands-on coordination of fuels reduction on public and private lands. This includes organizing volunteer labor, partnering with professional contractors, establishing chipper programs, and conducting large-scale fire break work. Partners include CUSP, Mile High Youth Corps, Team Rubicon, COSWAP, and the Colorado State Forestry Service.
Ongoing public education on forest health, home hardening, CWRC compliance, and the evolving insurance market. Speaker series, community forums, and presence at local events. Starting July 2026, Colorado's HB 25-1182 gives residents the right to see and challenge their wildfire risk score — FORGE will help every resident exercise those rights.
Recruiting, training, and deploying a cadre of locally certified volunteers capable of conducting property hazard assessments, assisting neighbors with mitigation work, and operating chain saws. Firewise USA requires documented community volunteer hours as part of certification — our volunteer program fulfills that requirement while building lasting local capacity.
FORGE actively pursues funding through federal agencies, state agencies, private foundations, and individual donors. Key grant sources include Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation (FRWRM) grants administered through COSWAP and CUSP, and Colorado State Forestry Service programs. A current, filed CWPP is a prerequisite for most major grants — making CWPP development the immediate first priority.
© 2025 FORGE Ute Pass · 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
El Paso County & Teller County, Colorado
FORGE volunteers give as little or as much time as works for their lives. Most activities take just a few hours — a Saturday chipper day, an evening community forum, or a morning property walk with a neighbor.
For those who want to go deeper, we offer chainsaw operator certification, property hazard assessment training, and leadership pathways within our committee structure.
All FORGE volunteer programs are conducted in coordination with certified partners including Team Rubicon, Fire Adapted Colorado, and the Colorado State Forestry Service.
Starting July 2026, Colorado's HB 25-1182 requires insurers to account for community-level mitigation. Every hour you volunteer contributes to a documented, community-wide record that can help protect your neighbors' insurance coverage.
© 2025 FORGE Ute Pass · 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
El Paso County & Teller County, Colorado
House Bill 25-1182, effective July 1, 2026, is the most significant change to wildfire insurance regulation in Colorado in decades. Insurers will be required to share individual wildfire risk scores with policyholders, incorporate community-level mitigation into their models, and provide a formal appeals process. FORGE is preparing education programs to help every Ute Pass resident understand and act on their new rights.
FORGE has received its nonprofit determination, establishing the organization as the coordinating body for wildfire resilience across the Ute Pass corridor. Grant applications are underway.
The CWRC establishes new standards for construction in the Wildland-Urban Interface. Here's what it means for homeowners in Chipita Park, Cascade, Crystola, and Green Mountain Falls.
Led by FORGE President David Douglas through the Green Mountain Falls FMAC, over 70 acres of public and private land have been mitigated — a proven template for the broader Ute Pass.
Colorado homeowners insurance premiums have risen 130% over the last decade. FORGE's community-wide mitigation directly addresses the conditions driving these losses.
FORGE's twice-annual chipper program served over 40 properties in fall 2025. Planning is underway to expand the program to all Ute Pass communities.
A chainsaw operator certification course certified 12 Ute Pass residents as Sawyer 1 operators, expanding the community's capacity to assist neighbors with fuels mitigation.
© 2025 FORGE Ute Pass · 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
El Paso County & Teller County, Colorado
© 2025 FORGE Ute Pass · 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
El Paso County & Teller County, Colorado
Select an amount or enter your own. All donations support FORGE's programs in fuels mitigation, education, volunteer training, and wildfire protection planning.
FORGE Ute Pass is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
© 2025 FORGE Ute Pass · 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
El Paso County & Teller County, Colorado