County leaders asked to approve the first plan in 34 years to handle a large swath of trees amid growth, fire danger and climate change.
wildfire mitigation
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Removing trees from Colorado forests will not prevent wildfires from burning
The large wildfires we have experienced in Colorado and across the West threaten our homes while risking — and all too often, taking — the lives of residents and firefighters. Scientists studying the phenomenon know these big fires are the result of high temperatures and drought exacerbated by climate change and coinciding with high winds. […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors, Water, Wildfire
PHOTOS: Summit County torches 400 acres of beetle-kill ahead of wildfire season
SUMMIT COUNTY — The men stomp through the snow, snaking torches into stacks of timber and sparking flames. Soon, thin wisps of smoke turn dense and dark as orange flames lick the 10-foot tall piles of dead trees. Dozens of bonfires begin melting growing rings of snow, sending smoke high above Summit County last week. […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Give the job of wildfire prevention to nature’s architects
As a wildland firefighter, I have witnessed the impacts of larger and longer fire seasons. I have smelled the charred earth and watched the soil blown away into dust. In 2020, Colorado had its most destructive fires to date, with the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires burning more than 402,725 acres; that’s equivalent to […]
Posted inGrowth, News, Wildfire
“An incredible frustration”: Boulder County fire officials have long sought better wildfire escape routes
Fire chief Michael Schmitt is bumping down an unpaved road west of Boulder, barely wide enough for his SUV. He’s headed toward the dead end of County Road 83, where — behind a metal gate, behind tree trunks blackened in the Fourmile Canyon fire — a narrow dirt road is cut into the mountainside. If […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
State Reps. Holtorf, Pelton, Will and Catlin: The Republican plan for wildfire relief
In January, the Marshall fire swept through Boulder County destroying more than 1,000 homes and displacing the lives of thousands of Coloradans. While this disaster brought national attention to the threat of wildfires destroying homes, property, and lives, the people of Colorado are not strangers to the hazards of uncontrolled fires. For years, rural Coloradans […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Federal investments in science are needed to reduce wildfire
It used to be that October marked the end of wildfire season, and the most destructive fires occurred in or around forested areas. But increasingly, more Americans experience the impacts of wildfires year-round. In 2021, nearly 50,000 wildfires were reported, which burned over seven million acres of land. And as we saw with the Marshall […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: The fight against wildfire must include fire-resistant houses
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew slammed into South Florida, killing 40 people and destroying more than 25,000 homes in Miami-Dade County. Inspections after the storm revealed that houses had been poorly designed and haphazardly built, unable to withstand the storm’s 174-mph winds. This inability to withstand strong winds came from a lax building code that was […]
Posted inNews, Wildfire
How to prepare for a wildfire in Colorado
The Marshall fire, which forced thousands to flee as flames raced across 6,000 acres in the matter of hours, offered a window into what has become a new reality for many parts of Colorado. Even if you don’t live in a community directly adjacent to forestland, embers can travel through the air, move rapidly and […]
Posted inNews
4,000 cars, one exit: Residents in growing neighborhoods worry their new neighbors could crowd wildfire escape routes
CONIFER — A fire chief warning county officials in all-caps that he would be “UNABLE TO PROTECT” a proposed housing complex might have sounded like its death knell. But in this mountain community west of Denver, the developer decided instead to file a lawsuit seeking a court-ordered takeover of the Elk Creek Fire Protection District. […]