Posts tagged wild land fires boulder
Fourmile Canyon Fire aerial mulching to begin Thursday, April 7 (weather permitting)
Apr 5th
Aerial mulching treatments will consist of certified weed-free straw and WoodStrawÓ being dropped in pre-determined areas from helicopters. Target areas were determined by a set of criteria that includes slope, burn severity, flood/debris flow risk, and values downstream (including human life, safety and property). In total, approximately 1,960 acres will be aerially mulched inside the fire boundary.
Aerial operations will begin on April 7 (weather permitting) in the vicinity of Sugarloaf Road and Fourmile Canyon Drive and move to areas within Sunshine Canyon on or after April 12. Flights will operate for about two weeks (up until April 23) depending on weather conditions throughout the mulching period.
Helicopters will be flying during daylight hours only beginning as early as 7 a.m., and residents can expect temporary road closures as helicopters fly overhead. Additionally, heavy truck equipment will be used in the vicinity of Sugarloaf Road and Sunshine Canyon to deliver straw and support equipment for the aerial flights.
Hand seeding is taking place along roads and driveways in areas that were moderately to severely burned, and with less than 60 percent slope. Roads and driveways are targeted because vehicles are a common way that weed seeds are transported. In total, approximately 500 acres will be seeded utilizing the help of volunteers.
Call the Fourmile Rehabilitation Hotline at 303-413-7010 for the latest updates on seeding and aerial mulching activities. Message boards or flaggers will be located in the vicinity of work being performed to alert residents of any delays or modifications to traffic patterns.
Safety issues
Due to safety regulations and FAA requirements, no one can be in the immediate areas where mulch is being dropped.
Residents and workers in the mulching areas for Gold Hill, Four Mile Canyon, Sugar Loaf and Sunshine Canyon will be asked to leave the area for the day, and bring in pets/livestock while their specific block or neighborhood is being mulched.
Boulder County Sheriff’s patrols will be active in the area to maintain public safety for the duration of the treatments. The Sheriff’s Office asks everyone to be mindful of the following privacy and public safety rules:
- Motorists must not block traffic on any public right of way.
- Everyone must stay at least 200 feet outside of the perimeter of active aerial mulching treatment areas at all times so as not to impede operations.
- No trespassing is allowed on private property including driveways, turn-offs, private roads or other private property.
- Cyclists are asked to avoid Sugarloaf Road, Fourmile Canyon Drive, and Sunshine Canyon Drive while helicopter flights are occurring (April 7-23).
Information resources
For additional information and maps showing the treatment areas go to: www.bouldercounty.org/fourmilefire.
FIRE WEATHER WATCH BOULDER
Mar 10th
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
437 AM MST THU M011
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE POSSIBLE. PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS AND FIRE
CREWS IN THE FIELD OF THIS FIRE WEATHER WATCH.
…GUSTY WINDS AND DRY FUELS WILL PRODUCE VERY HIGH FIRE DANGER
OVER NORTHEAST COLORADO LATE FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY
AFTERNOON…
COZ238>251-102345-
/O.NEW.KBOU.FW.A.0001.110311T1800Z-110312T0100Z/
LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-
BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD
COUNTY-
NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND
ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-
ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-
NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-
CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES-
NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN
COUNTY-
SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-
LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY-
437 AM MST THU MAR 10 2011
…FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH
FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR FIRE
WEATHER ZONES 238…239…240…241…242…243…244…245…
246…247…248…249…250 AND 251…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A FIRE WEATHER
WATCH…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY
AFTERNOON.
* AFFECTED AREA…FIRE WEATHER ZONE 238…FORT COLLINS…
HEREFORD…LOVELAND…NUNN…WEST PAWNEE GRASSLANDS…FIRE
WEATHER ZONE 239…ARVADA…BOULDER...GOLDEN…LAKEWOOD…
LONGMONT…FIRE WEATHER ZONE 240…AURORA…BRIGHTON…CITY
OF DENVER…DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT…HIGHLANDS RANCH…
LITTLETON…PARKER…FIRE WEATHER ZONE 241…CASTLE ROCK…
ELBERT…FONDIS…KIOWA…LARKSPUR…FIRE WEATHER ZONE 242…
BRIGGSDALE…EAST PAWNEE GRASSLANDS…GROVER…PAWNEE
BUTTES…RAYMER…STONEHAM…FIRE WEATHER ZONE 243…EATON…
FORT LUPTON…GREELEY…ROGGEN…FIRE WEATHER ZONE 244…
BRUSH…FORT MORGAN…GOODRICH…WIGGINS…FIRE WEATHER ZONE
245…BENNETT…BYERS…DEER TRAIL…LEADER…FIRE WEATHER
ZONE 246…AGATE…HUGO…LIMON…MATHESON…FIRE WEATHER
ZONE 247…FORDER…KARVAL…KUTCH…PUNKIN CENTER…FIRE
WEATHER ZONE 248…CROOK…MERINO…STERLING…PEETZ…FIRE
WEATHER ZONE 249…AKRON…COPE…LAST CHANCE…OTIS…FIRE
WEATHER ZONE 250…JULESBURG…OVID…SEDGWICK…FIRE WEATHER
ZONE 251…AMHERST…HAXTUN…HOLYOKE.
* TIMING…RELATIVE HUMDIDITY WILL DROP INTO THE TEENS BY MIDDAY
FRIDAY ALONG WITH GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS.
* WIND…WEST TO NORTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH.
* HUMIDITY…10 TO 15 PERCENT.
* IMPACTS…DRY CURED FUELS COMBINED WITH LOW HUMIDITY AND
STRONG WINDS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR FIRES TO START AND SPREAD
QUICKLY.
Social Media + Emergency Management: Talking with Tech Leaders on the West Coast boulder #boulder
Jan 14th
Yesterday I had a very productive day in California talking about social media, technology, emergency management, and ways to assist the public in getting prepared, by using the tools they use on a daily basis. Check out this short video to see who I met with:
In addition to meeting with fellow “Craig”, Craig Newmark (the founder of Craigslist), I also met with editors from Wired Magazine, Twitter, Apple and Facebook.
Some of the things we discussed included:
- The need to provide information to the public as data feeds, because they are a key member of our emergency management team;
- The importance of referring to people impacted by a disaster as survivors and utilizing them as a resource;
- The importance of providing good customer service; and
- How we, as emergency managers, need to stop trying to have the public fit into our way of doing things and receiving information, but that we should fit the way the public gets, receives and seeks out information.
There are a lot of discussions and conversations taking place about social media, text messaging, etc, and how these tools can be used before, during, and after a disaster.
There’s no question that these tools have already changed the field of emergency management – and will continue to. As emergency managers, we will have to be flexible and agile and quickly adapt as new technologies and communications tools emerge. What’s exciting is that these new tools, if we embrace them and leverage them effectively, will continue to help us better serve our customers – the public.
As the conversation continues, and as you use these tools on a daily basis, there are things that you can today do to prepare yourself, your family members, and your colleagues at work.
Communicating during or after an emergency
How are you communicating with each other if a disaster or emergency occurs? Are you going to call each other, send an email, text message, or update each other via a social network site? The disaster or emergency could be something like a blackout in your city or a school closure; all disasters aren’t large earthquakes or hurricanes.
Receiving updates on your phone
How are you receiving updates from local officials? Have you signed up for text message or email alerts? If you’re on Facebook, did you know that you can signup to receive text message updates from Facebook pages you follow? If you are a fan of FEMA on Facebook or your local emergency management agency, you can receive our update as a text message right on your phone (and just like with any text message, standard rates apply).
Leverage Twitter without creating an account
And here’s another small tip: if you are thinking about using Twitter, did you know you can receive text messages updates from someone you’re following without having to create an account? For example, if you wanted to receive our updates as a text message to your phone, just text FOLLOW FEMA to 40404 (this is Twitter’s text message number and of course, standard text message rates apply — the lawyers require me to repeat this). You can do the same for your local emergency management agency.
Our meetings in California generated great discussions and ideas and I’m excited to explore how we can move forward on them. In the meantime, I’d like to hear how you use these and other social network sites to communicate with friends and family before or during an emergency, so we can all utilize these tools to fullest capability, so please leave a comment below, or visit our ongoing challenge at www.challenge.gov/fema and submit your ideas.