Wildfire in the mountains
Mountain Life
When mountain people gather these days, we seem to be talking about how little snow we’ve gotten and how relatively warm this winter has been. The most recent forecasts from the National Weather Service suggest that our usual spring snows may not come through for us, due to a La Nina oceanic cycle setting up. Couple that with the high winds (also thanks to La Nina) and the beetle-killed trees, and we may be setting up for a scarier-than-average fire season this year.
The County-wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan will be finished just in time for the fire season. Look for notices of public meetings so that you can give your input, and be sure to fill out the citizen’s survey – a link to it can be found on the front page of the Gilpin Extension website (www.extension.colostate.edu/gilpin). Merely taking the survey will help you think about how ready you are to face a wildfire.
Another great way to prepare yourself for a fire is to attend the upcoming Wildfire Symposium on March 14 from 1-4 pm in the Gilpin Community Center. We will hear from Monique Rocca, Assistant Professor of Fire Science at Colorado State University, about the fire behavior in beetle-killed Lodgepole Pine forests (her most recent adventures include deliberately torching dead trees in Rocky Mountain National Park to see how easily they catch fire). Protecting your home will also be covered, from a great short video by Jack Cohen on the surprising lessons they’ve learned on fire behavior and why certain houses survive, to a talk by our District Forester, Allen Owen, on the creation of a defensible space around your house. We will also hear from our local volunteer firefighters on what you can do to help them help you. Finally, there will be any new updates on grants and financial assistance. We hope to see you there – call the Extension office to reserve your space today – 303-582-9106. A site with a lot of useful and important information on wildfires is www.firewise.org.
A bill to watch that is currently in legislation is Senate Bill 80 – this would authorize the collection of precipitation from up to 3,000 square feet of a roof of a building that is primarily used as a residence and is not connected to a domestic water system serving more than three single-family dwellings, if the water thus collected is used for: fire protection; the watering of poultry, domestic animals, and livestock on farms and ranches; the irrigation of not over one acre of gardens and lawns; or ordinary household purposes. If this interests you, you may want to contact your State Senator (Dan Gibbs) and State Representative (Claire Levy). It has passed the third reading in the State Senate, and has passed to the House Agriculture committee.
There are many other bills in the General Assembly that are addressing the pine beetle situation, and there may also be Economic Stimulus money coming to Colorado to help – we’ll have to watch and see what happens.
Another situation to be aware of is the very real danger of falling trees. With these high winds it seems that more trees than ever are snapping or uprooting. Be very careful driving around blind curves – you never know when a tree may be blocking your lane. Also, as more trees die from the pine beetle epidemic, you will need to be aware of your surroundings any time you are out in the woods. Typically, a beetle-killed tree will fall around 7-15 years after it dies, but sometimes they can come down sooner. Just last fall, a forester was tragically killed by a falling tree in Grand County while he was hauling slash. Review your driveway and your lands adjacent to County roads (contrary to popular opinion, the trees alongside the right-of-ways are owned by the landowner, not the County) to see whether they might benefit from thinning. Just one tree down across a road can prevent you or your neighbors from getting out in case of a fire.
Be careful out there, and do what you can to protect your home and family.
Irene Shonle is the Director of the CSU Extension in Gilpin County.