Fires, Floods, Snow extremes
Breaking news about Wild Land Fires & Floods and snow storms in the Boulder, Colorado area.
Nederland Area Community Forestry Sort Yard to reopen in August
Jul 26th
Forest Health Outreach Program offers tips and tools for landowners
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Forest Health Initiative is pleased to announce that the Nederland Community Forestry Sort Yard will reopen to area residents on Saturday, Aug. 4.
The sort yard, located at 291 Ridge Road just north of Nederland, will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays, through Oct. 20.
Boulder County operates two sort yards each summer in order to provide residents a free of charge location to dispose of logs and slash cut from their land. The Allenspark/Meeker Park area sort yard, located on the Peak-to-Peak Highway just north of the Boulder-Larimer county line closed for the season on July 7.
The widely popular sort yard program has experienced increasingly high usage since it first started accepting material in 2008.
“It was truly amazing seeing so many landowners taking action to prepare their homes for future wildfires,” sort yard manager Wayne Harrington said. “This summer we have seen a nearly constant stream of traffic with trucks, trailers, and even Subarus filled to the brim with slash and logs.”
Why should forest landowners be interested in this county service?
The county’s Forest Health Outreach Program for private landowners has been actively encouraging all forest landowners to be good stewards of their backyard forest. The county recommends all landowners create effective defensible space around their homes, aggressively fight bark beetle infestations, and otherwise create healthy sustainable forest ecosystems on their land.
Community forestry sort yards are one tool available to help landowners effectively manage their forested lands. A major hurdle many landowners face when implementing effective mitigation on their land is what to do with leftover slash and logs.
Learn more about wildfire mitigation and bark beetle management
The county works with local fire protection districts, communities and agency partners to offer local community forestry trainings and workshops on wildfire mitigation, bark beetle management and forest restoration. Residents can connect with the Boulder County Forest Outreach Program for private landowners by visiting www.BoulderCounty.org/ForestHealth.
One of the best ways to stay connected about upcoming programs is to sign up for the forest health listserv at www.BoulderCounty.org/ForestHealth. Once signed up, individuals will receive periodic forestry tips of the day, information about upcoming forestry trainings, and other information directly related to managing a backyard forest.
In addition, county outreach forester Ryan Ludlow is available to help answer individual forestry questions and can help set-up free mini neighborhood forest management workshops at a home or at larger community trainings for HOAs, towns and neighborhoods. Give Ryan a call at 720-564-2641 or emailrludlow@bouldercounty.org.
Forest Landowners are also encouraged to work with the Boulder District of Colorado State Forest Service to implement effective mitigation on their land. CSFS is the lead state agency providing forest stewardship and wildfire mitigation assistance to private landowners. Contact the Boulder District of CSFS at 303-823-5774.
To learn more about how to create and maintain effective wildfire mitigation on personal property visit http://csfs.colostate.edu/pages/wf-protection.html orwww.firewise.org.
To learn more about bark beetle management visit www.BoulderCounty.org/ForestHealth and open the “Bark Beetle Inspector Identification and Treatment Field Guide” or visit http://ammo.com/articles/why-prepare-for-a-disaster.
City opens some trail segments and climbing access previously closed due to fire
Jul 24th
The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) department has re-opened the lower portions of Fern and Shadow Canyon trails to hiking and access to several popular climbing areas on the west side of Mesa Trail. The area had been closed as a result of the June 26 Flagstaff Fire.
“With the lifting of closures in this particular area, the public can hike the loop near Fern Canyon and have access to climbing routes in the area such as The Slab, Fern Canyon Boulders, and The Maiden,” said Eric Stone, division manager for OSMP.
Top of the Maiden rock formation is accessible nor
Some closures remain in effect. The boundary on the west is now points on both Fern and Shadow Canyon trails that are still marked with closure signs. On Fern Canyon, a new closure boundary will be placed at a point approximately 0.25 mile west of the junction with The Mesa Trail where an access to Fern Canyon Boulders exists. The closure boundary on Shadow Canyon Trail is now approximately 0.4 mile west of the junction with Shadow Canyon North to provide access to a climbing area known as The Maiden. The summits of both Bear and South Boulder Peaks will remain closed as will the upper portions of Shadow and Fern Canyons and Bear Peak West Ridge Trail until staff has the opportunity to conduct a complete assessment of this area in regard to visitor safety and resource protection. This area will reopen to on-trail travel only once it is determined to be safe for visitor access.
For questions about closures on OSMP properties, please call 303-441-3440 or visit www.OSMP.org
Mountain residents urged to review insurance policies
Jul 16th
Boulder County and Foothills United Way to host two free insurance workshops
Boulder County, Colo. – Recent fires all along the Front Range have served as catastrophic reminders of the need for foothills and mountain dwellers to make sure they are adequately insured before disaster strikes.
Now is a critical time for mountain residents to check their insurance policies and ensure their homes are adequately covered and to take some easy steps to prepare for any disaster.
Foothills United Way and Boulder County are holding two free educational workshops to help residents make sure they are properly insured and to learn how to be prepared for any natural disaster:
- Nederland – Monday, July 23, 7-8:30 p.m.
Nederland Community Center, 750 Highway 72
- Boulder – Tuesday, July 24, 6:30-8 p.m.
Commissioners’ Hearing Room, Boulder County Courthouse, third floor, 1325 Pearl St.
The workshops will cover several topics, including:
- Lessons learned from Fourmile Canyon Fire Survivors
- Tips from United Policyholders’ ‘Roadmap to Preparedness’ Program (www.uphelp.org)
- How to ensure your insurance policy accurately reflects the real cost of rebuilding in the mountains west of Boulder
- Practical ways your family can be prepared in the case of a natural disaster
Often, the cost to rebuild, especially in the mountains, exceeds the amount of coverage policyholders carry for their homes and other property. Adding to this problem is the homeowner’s lack of awareness that the policies they carry are inadequate.
“One of the hard lessons of the Fourmile Canyon Fire was that more than 60 percent of property owners were underinsured,” said Garry Sanfaçon, Boulder County’s Fourmile Fire Recovery Manager. “These workshops will give people the tools they need to make sure they are adequately covered.”
