Boulder County Wildfire Partners Commissioned the Artwork to Build Community Empowerment Around Wildfire Resilience as Part of Routine Home Maintenance

BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Boulder County is now home to two new, vibrant murals created for a cause: to spark conversations around wildfire resilience and the actions residents can take to reduce risk. The public art was commissioned by Wildfire Partners, the Boulder County program helping residents take collective and individual action to reduce wildfire risk at home. Mobilizing the community is critical since the USDA Forest Service ranks Boulder County in the top 10 most at-risk areas for wildfire in the Rocky Mountain Region.

The murals are part of Wildfire Partner's "Home Sweet Mitigated Home" campaign, which spreads the message that a home that's resilient to wildfire is a safer, sweeter place to be. The lasting public art reflects the reality that wildfires are now a year-round threat. A 2025 analysis published by Colorado State University researchers shows the annual average number of wildfires in Colorado has increased sharply, from 13 in the 1990s to more than 70 by the 2020s. 

"We know this community is keenly aware of the potential for wildfires in our area yet often don't know where to start in protecting their homes," said Jim Webster, program manager for Wildfire Partners. "These murals should remind our residents that mitigating your home against wildfires is a necessary, achievable and empowering part of living in Boulder County. Together, we can build steps into routine home maintenance to make our entire community more resilient."

Created in collaboration with notable artists, Taylor Shaw and Colorado-based Rachel Dinda, the newly-installed murals are located in Nederland at 74 CO-72 at Nederland Feed and Pet, and in Lyons on Broadway between 4th and 5th Ave. They feature bold colors, beautiful vistas and the "Home Sweet Mitigated Home" headline, each in the artists' distinct style. The bright designs will also be featured on campaign merch like tote bags and stickers, which will be given away to the first 20 people to post a photo with the murals, tagging @wildfirepartners on Instagram or Facebook and sharing what mitigation steps they're inspired to take.

Embedded cleverly in each mural are images of homes shown with proper mitigation, helping build awareness for the tasks that can help protect homes, such as removing highly-combustible juniper plants near your home. In 2026, Boulder County online searches like "junk your junipers", "how to remove juniper bushes", and "boulder county juniper removal" have been steadily rising every week since June. Wildfire Partners is hopeful the murals will help keep the momentum going.

Because wildfire mitigation isn't a one-time event, Wildfire Partners encourages homeowners to start with what's easy to achieve: cleaning gutters, raking and removing clutter from under the deck. These are effective everyday mitigation actions that don't require a big budget. For the projects that do, all Boulder County residents may be eligible for a rebate up to $500 from Wildfire Partners by completing one of the approved mitigation actions.

To learn more, visit wildfirepartners.org. 

About Wildfire Partners

Wildfire Partners is a nationally recognized Boulder County government program designed to help residents prepare for wildfires. Technical and financial assistance is available to residents of the county through custom wildfire mitigation assessments and certification, grant funding, educational events, community programs, a free community chipping program, rebates, and youth mitigation crews helping vulnerable individuals and communities.

The rebate program is funded by the Wildfire Mitigation Sales Tax, approved by Boulder County voters in 2022. The tax supports a wide range of wildfire resilience efforts, including landscape-scale forest and grassland management, community-level mitigation planning, and parcel-level home hardening initiatives.

For more information, contact Wildfire Partners at 303-441-1420 or info@wildfirepartners.org.

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SOURCE Boulder County