“It’s 8:45 pm, and we are evacuating. You can reach us on our cell phones.” This alarming message was left on an answering machine in June of 2002. Forest conditions that spring were similar in many ways to our current dry spring. This homeowner – and entire subdivision – had proactively prepared for wildfire. No homes were lost in this neighborhood though homes in neighboring subdivisions burned.
Despite a heavy snow year, Colorado may be heading into another extreme fire season. Our forests are overgrown with dense vegetation due to years of fire suppression and past logging practices. Insect epidemics like the pine beetle, and others, continue to kill trees. Fortunately, there are steps we can take to protect our homes, our property and ourselves. As responsible stewards of the land, property owners should prepare for wildfire. This is especially important because the Colorado State Forest Service ranks Southwest Colorado as one of the three riskiest areas of the State for wildfire.
Creating defensible space is one of the first steps we can take. Defensible space is a circle of protection around a home in a forested area, where the vegetation has been modified to reduce the intensity of a wildfire as it approaches a home. A common misconception is that creating a defensible space means clear-cutting all vegetation and trees. Fortunately, this is not the case. Wildfire risk can be dramatically reduced while maintaining privacy screening and aesthetic beauty.
The risks and impacts of wildfire are increased in forested subdivisions because of the density of homes and limited access roads. Firefighting resources are stretched thin during a wildfire event, especially when multiple subdivisions are threatened. There are not enough firefighters to defend every home. Homes without defensible space place firefighters at unreasonable risk and may have to withstand a wildfire alone. Fire prevention should be evaluated as an entire subdivision, taking into account factors like access, safe zones for firefighters and multiple exits.
If you live in a forested subdivision, consider these actions:
1) Form a fire prevention committee.
2) Launch an awareness campaign for your neighborhood.
3) Participate in the Firewise Council of Southwest Colorado and the Ambassador Program (see fact sheet below).
4) Develop a wildfire evacuation plan.
5) Conduct a subdivision-wide wildfire danger assessment. Lot-specific information can be sent to non-resident owners.
6) Install and maintain all street signs for easy identification by emergency vehicles.
7) Encourage residents to install clearly visible house numbers.
10) Evaluate subdivision roads for evacuation and emergency vehicle access.
11) Clear a 3-foot area around hydrants for Fire Department access.
12) Install a fire danger sign at the entrance that identifies the current fire risk.
13) Reduce vegetation under utility lines and around the base of poles.
14) Install strategic fuel breaks and reduce vegetation in common areas.
15) Hold an annual “Defensible Space Maintenance” day.
16) Identify a place for a slash pile. Follow so that you don’t increase fire hazards or exacerbate insect problems.
17) Continue education efforts year-round, before the crisis of fire season arrives.
The risk of wildfire is something that we live with everyday when we choose to make our home in a forested area. However, with preparation, you can dramatically reduce the risk that wildfire poses to your home, property and community. Two of the most important ways to do this are by creating defensible space around a home, and returning the forest to a healthy state by reducing density. Taking these steps also creates ecological and financial benefits, as wildlife habitat and forest health improves, and property values have been shown to increase.
In La Plata County, there are a number of things happening during May Wildfire Prevention and Education Month.
- Through the Firewise Council of Southwest Colorado’s Neighborhood Ambassador Program, volunteer Ambassadors are kicking off events and education plus mitigation projects in their own neighborhoods. On May 22nd, there will be a new Ambassador orientation at 5:30 p.m. at the San Juan Public Lands Center (15 Burnett Court). Please RSVP to 247-8306.
- The Firewise Council of Southwest Colorado, Southwest Conservation Corps and Fire Ready, Inc. are launching “Neighborhood Clean Up Days” at Durango Ridge Ranch, Durango West 1 and Falls Creek Ranch.
- On May 13th, the Board of County Commissioners will consider a proclamation for May as Wildfire Prevention and Education Month (see below).
- Be sure and read the Opinion Page of the Durango Herald on Sunday, May 11th when the La Plata County Fire Chiefs will offer their views on why residents need to be educated, aware and prepared.
- A Firewise Council of Southwest Colorado ad campaign will kick off in regional newspapers on May 1st and will continue throughout the month. The goal is to prompt residents into action and link them to a this one-stop-shopping Web site: www.southwestcoloradofires.org.
- The Durango Herald will premier a new addition to their back weather page that shows fire danger and educates the public on where to access up-to-date information during the upcoming wildfire season.
- A five-part brochure series on various wildfire issues will be available at: La Plata County Building Department (basement of the Courthouse); San Juan Public Lands Center (15 Burnett Court); La Plata Electric Association (45 Stewart Street in BoDo Park); and all county fire departments' main offices.
- Durango Community Access Television (DCAT) will run two locally-produced videos in May – “After the Fire” and “In the Line of First Defense: Homeowners Stand up To Wildfire”, and, wildfire will be the topic of Jim Dyer’s Eye on Durango May show.
- And much more!
May is Wildfire Prevention and Education Month in Southwest Colorado. For more information, call your local Fire Department/District; Colorado State Forest Service at 970-247-5250; San Juan Public Lands Center (USFS/BLM) at 970-247-4874; San Juan Mountains Association at 970-385-1210; and/or visit www.southwestcoloradofires.org (a local Web site with down-loadable information; fire news; a List Serve; wildfire plans and risk maps; a home self assessment; a defensible space contractor’s list; and more.)
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PROCLAMATION
WILDFIRE PREVENTION AND EDUCATION MONTH
May, 2008
WHEREAS. Southwest Colorado has been identified by the Colorado State Forest Service as being one of the three areas of highest risk in the State of Colorado for wildfire; and
WHEREAS, the Black Ridge, Missionary Ridge, Valley and other wildfires have cost millions of dollars and affected this county's social, cultural, natural and economic health in many ways; and
WHEREAS, climate change, drought, insects and other factors are affecting forests in La Plata County, making more action at the community level necessary; and
WHEREAS, budgets for federal and state programs related to wildfire prevention and education are either flat or shrinking, creating a need for local communities to take a greater role, including local governments; and
WHEREAS, property owners are increasingly building homes within the County's Wildland Urban Interface, and whereas citizens who live in or near these forests and woodlands therefore need to be more aware, prepared, and active in helping create safer properties and healthier forests; and
WHEREAS, the County recognizes the need for subdivisions and other local communities to help protect themselves from wildfire by developing and implementing Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs); and
WHEREAS, La Plata County Government has been proactive in wildfire issues through its various departments, Title III grant for Firewise Neighborhood Ambassador Program, and through passing new wildfire mitigation and driveway standards in the 2007 Revised Land Use Code;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Firewise Council of Southwest Colorado proclaims May as "Wildfire Prevention and Education Month" to prompt education, awareness, and action on the part of citizens, property owners, HOAs /POAs, businesses, and governments.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED in Durango, La Plata County, Colorado this 13th day of May, 2008.
