SAN LUIS – The Trinchera Blanca Foundation announced on Monday a $125,000 grant for the Costilla County Fire Protection District (CCFPD) to use toward the purchase of a new tender apparatus and additional training sessions to certify more firefighters for the county. A tender apparatus is a must-have vehicle for fire departments with significant forests or grasslands and is used primarily to deliver large capacities of water to front line firefighting efforts.

This year Costilla County experienced one of its worst forest fires ever during the Spring Fire, which burned over 100,000 acres, and nearly 150 homes in the county. The addition of a new tender apparatus and additional certified firefighters will provide a much-needed boost to the county’s firefighting readiness and efforts and allow it to support state and federal efforts when called upon.

“Costilla County is a large county, with mostly private land made up of mountainous forested terrain and broad grasslands and the fire protection district is responsible to be the first responder during a wildfire – it just makes sense for us to help the county be well-equipped and trained to tackle fires as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Ty Ryland, ranch manager of Trinchera Blanca Ranch. “In the event of another fire, it’s our hope this support will help to speed up the initial response and make a dent in fires across the county.”

“The Costilla County Fire Protection District is thankful for the generous support of the Trinchera Blanca Foundation. This grant will go a long way in improving our wildland firefighting efforts. The new tender will allow us to enhance our service to the community while being able to also assist with wildfires across the country.” said John Serna, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Costilla County Fire Protection District.      

A new tender apparatus will cost approximately $250,000 to be compliant with state and federal wildfire fighting requirements and CCFPD will be seeking additional grants and matches to purchase the vehicle.

About The Trinchera Blanca Foundation

The Trinchera Blanca Foundation, the Colorado affiliate of The Moore Charitable Foundation, founded by Louis Bacon in 1992 supports organizations committed to protecting land, water and wildlife habitat in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. The Trinchera Blanca Foundation also supports community programs dedicated to improving quality of life in the surrounding region.