Golden Beer Talks

Jefferson County Wildfire Mitigation Efforts

Jefferson County is making a substantial investment in the development of a Wildland Fire Management Program aimed at activities and programs to protect citizens, community values and natural resources from the threat of catastrophic wildfire. By state statute, the Sheriff is the Fire Warden for the county and as such, the program is part of the Emergency Services Section of the Sheriff’s Office.

The program is supported through Ballot Measure 1A, which was passed by Jefferson County voters in November 2024 to support public safety investments. The program is taking a holistic approach by investing in both Wildfire Preparedness and Community Engagement and Support Programs. The Wildfire Preparedness aspect is focused on wildfire risk mitigation projects, wildfire response capacity, evacuation effectiveness and supporting our county Fire Protection Districts and Fire Department partners. The Community Engagement aspect is focused on wildfire education and outreach, a county-wide home assessment program, and a micro-grant program to support homeowners with risk mitigation work.

Featured Speaker: Brian Keating

Brian Keating is the Wildland Fire Management Program Manager for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office within the Emergency Services Section. Brian began working for the Sheriff’s Office in December 202

3 after retiring from a 28-year career in wildland fire and risk mitigation management with various federal land management agencies across the western United States. Brian has worked for the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Services in Arizona, Oregon, Utah and Colorado.

Brian’s career focus has been in Fuels Management (risk mitigation, forest health and prescribed fire) and has supported wildfire suppression incidents throughout his career. Most recently, Brian served as the Incident Commander for the Jefferson County Quarry and Goltra fires in 2024. He also assists with Rocky Mountain Incident Management Teams as a Complex Operations Section Chief and Branch Director. Brian and his wife Deirdre have been Golden area resident since 2014 with their three sons, the youngest of which is a senior at Golden High School.

Doors open at 6
Talk begins at 6:35
Intermission – 7-7:15
Q&A/clean up 7:15-8

Featured Brewery: Golden City Brewery

How This Works
The Buffalo Rose will open at 6:00 p.m. Food and drink service will begin at 6:00 p.m. and the program will begin around 6:30 p.m. Following the presentation, we’ll take a brief intermission for Q + A. We’ll wrap up around 7:45 p.m., but people interested in staying a bit longer to socialize will be able to do so. There is no cover charge and no purchase is necessary.

Please check out podcasts of Past Talks.