Starting in 2022, thanks to generous private funding and support from our Fire Networks partnership, FAC Net has invested in pilot projects in communities around the west who wanted to start or bolster community clean air efforts. This year, with the exception of one community in the front range of Colorado, all awardees were part of the Greater Yellowstone Fire Action Network (GYFAN). We focused on pilot projects in this region, to help jumpstart the application of Smoke Ready Plans in their area, integrated with broader GYFAN efforts and long-term strategy.
Awardees received a small amount of funds, and participated in a learning cohort where they could learn about previous awardee’s efforts and share learning with each other. Read about this year’s cohort’s projects and help celebrate their wins with us!
Southeast Idaho Public Health (Contributions by Anna Kaiser)
Southeast Idaho Public Health’s (SIPH) project was a part of their community’s smoke ready plan — which aims to prepare residents of Southeastern Idaho for heavy smoke days. One aspect of their smoke ready plan is the creation of clean air spaces across the district, specifically targeted at vulnerable populations. This year’s FAC Net grant aided in creating some of those clean air spaces.
“The project allowed SIPH to create clean air spaces equipped with a HEPA air filter throughout the district. So far, SIPH has established 8 clean-air spaces open to the general public during smoke heavy months (one in each district office), and has donated a HEPA air filter to 8 senior centers- providing clean air spaces for a vulnerable population throughout the district. SIPH has five filters left over, which we plan to give to child care [centers] throughout the coming year.“
The funding allowed SIPH to purchase the HEPA air filters needed to create the clean air spaces across the district. Working with the other departments within SIPH was an integral part of the project; teaming up with health education and emergency management helped the program staff identify vulnerable populations, which was an important step in determining where to place the filters.
Lincoln County Public Health / Emergency Management, Wyoming (Contributions by Patty Pringle)
This awardee is particularly excited about next year’s impacts as a result of the work they did this year. Due to the timing of the project, they did not have the purifiers and fans in time this summer to get them to the people who really needed them, however their work to prep the program and do outreach will set them up for success ahead of next year’s smoke events.
“We have the items available to the community now and can hand them out at a moments notice, if and when we are asked. We will also be able to advertise more early next summer so the public knows that we have the items ready for them to pick up. With Public Health, we know of some people who would benefit from this program and we can just take the stuff to them and set it up in their house for them.”
Park County, MT (Contributions by Laurel Desnick & Shannan Piccolo)
Sometimes plans change! Originally, this awardee was planning to host DIY Filter Workshops for their community, however, due to some capacity challenges, they pivoted and purchased HEPA filter units for distribution.
“We anticipate that lower income families with health risks such as asthma, COPD, and cardiovascular disease will gain the most benefit from this project. It will be tied to our Smoke Ready work as well as education about the importance of clean air year round.”
Sublette County Emergency Management, Wyoming (Contributions by Jim Mitchell)
This awardees purchased HEPA air filters to use for a filter loan program during smoke events. This gave them the ability to create clean air spaces of refuge. For example, during one heavy smoke day during the program, they deployed one at a public health office and assisted 15-20 residents with a clean air space. This award helped them apply portions of the county smoke ready plan.
“Keeping the HEPA filters in a central location to be deployed when needed was very beneficial to those highly affected by smoke. This was done to maintain flexibility and serve those in need. Our county is large so keeping them in one central location facilitated quick and appropriate deployment.”
This project benefited from a number of partnerships: the Greater Yellowstone Fire Action Network assisted with messaging, Bridger-Teton National Forest air quality specialist provided real time air quality information and Sublette Public health department was a partner in developing the smoke ready plan.
Boulder Watershed Collective (Contributions by Julien Blundell)
Boulder Watershed Collective incorporated their clean air project in Nederland into a broader Wildfire and Emergency Preparedness campaign based off of recommendations in the Nederland and Timberline Fire Protection District’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) update. With funding from the Town of Nederland and the Argosy Foundation, a Wildfire Emergency Preparedness informational booklet was mailed to 2200 addresses in the Nederland & Timberline CWPP planning area.
“[Tying the clean air project to the broader campaign] created extra reach for smoke readiness information, as we were able to include smoke preparedness materials and educational resources in other programming about wildfire preparedness, and allowed for broader communication about wildfire preparedness to be incorporated in our smoke readiness programming.
We also designed a wildfire preparedness tip of the month social media campaign planned for 2025. Both the booklets and social media campaign posts included information on the health impacts of wildfire smoke, how to track air quality locally, instructions on how to create a clean air room, and resources to learn more about how to prepare for wildfire smoke events. This information was included directly because of funding from the Fire Adapted Learning Network Clean Air Grant program.”
In addition to mailings and social media outreach, an emergency preparedness workshop was held for the Nederland Area Seniors, where participants learned about how to prepare for wildfire, ask questions about evacuation and local emergency protocols, and sign up to receive air filters for individual use. As a result, Boulder Watershed Collective distributed 20 individual air filters to local community members, many of whom self-identified as at increased risk due to pre-existing heart and lung issues.
Lastly, BWC purchased air filters for two public clean air spaces. One filter was provided to the Nederland Public Library, as a centrally located space that often supports unhoused community members as well as tourists and others who could be at increased risk during wildfire smoke events. Two large air filters were also provided to the Nederland Community Center, as the primary evacuation center during wildfire events.
“The Clean Air Grant Program was perfectly timed to be implemented as the CWPP update was reaching completion. This funding allows us to move directly into CWPP implementation addressing a community priority to focus on education and engagement and specifically smoke related issues. Having the ability to focus immediately on implementing community priorities helped to increase our credibility and spur additional action.”
Boulder Watershed Collective also noted some lessons learned:
- Tapping into more locally organized events and community groups from the beginning of the project could lead to increased engagement and impact in this community in the future.
- While the Nederland Area Seniors was a good community group to target for air filter distribution in this pilot project, more could be done to identify and reach at-risk populations in the Nederland area. Future projects could focus on opt-in campaigns aimed at specific neighborhoods in Nederland for at-risk individuals in need of personal air filters for their homes.
A huge congratulations to all of the awardees in the cohort this year for your projects, partnerships and engagements! Lastly, sincere thanks to GYFAN staff and FAC Net partners, Liz Davy and Cristi Landes for their support in this year’s cohort!
****
