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Boulder: emergency warning-signal season to begin
Mar 28th
Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County and the City of Boulder will begin testing of the countywide emergency sirens at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 2. The test is the first of the annual season of monthly emergency siren tests, which take place on the first Monday of each month from April through August.
The siren tests will occur twice on each testing day, at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., on April 2, May 7, June 4, July 2 and Aug. 6.
Siren tests ensure that all systems and procedures are working properly during the season of peak flood danger. The tests also promote public awareness of the warning sirens located throughout Boulder County.
Should Boulder County experience severe weather during a one of the planned audible tests, the siren tests for that day may be cancelled. For updated information, visit www.BoulderOEM.com.
Residents are encouraged to review their own emergency preparedness plans and discuss what they would do in the event of a flash flood or other emergency. For more information about personal preparedness, visit www.readycolorado.com.
About the countywide alert system
Used to alert residents to potential danger from a flood or other immediate threat, there are more than 30 outdoor warning sirens in place across Boulder County, including in Boulder, Erie, Jamestown, Lafayette, Longmont, Louisville (does not do audible testing), Lyons, Marshall, Eldorado Springs, Superior and the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Youth Corps application deadline approaching
Mar 21st
Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County residents ages 14-17 have until Friday, March 30 to apply for summer jobs with the Boulder County Youth Corps. Boulder County is especially in need of female corps members.
The Youth Corps will hire up to 160 teenagers to work 30 hours per week, Monday through Thursday, from June 18 to Aug. 8 on a variety of community service projects such as forest thinning, historic preservation, construction and repair of fencing, trail maintenance, removal of Russian olive trees and noxious weeds, landscaping and replacing light bulbs with compact fluorescents. Youth Corps teams will work in unincorporated Boulder County as well as in Lafayette, Longmont and Superior.
Applications are available online at www.bouldercounty.org/youthcorps. Applications can also be picked up at counseling offices in Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley schools; city and town personnel offices; most local recreation and youth centers and libraries; and the Boulder County Human Resources Department at 2025 14th St. in Boulder.
Corps members will earn a starting wage of $7.64 per hour, with the possibility of earning a $100 bonus at the end of the program based on merit and strong attendance. Teens who have worked for the corps in past years can earn up to $8.14 an hour. In addition, corps members are eligible for reimbursement for the purchase of work boots and gloves. RTD bus passes for the purpose of traveling to and from centralized work meeting places may be subsidized.
The Youth Corps offers one of the best first job opportunities available in Boulder County. Teams have completed projects such as building the new Fourmile Trail connector at Betasso Preserve Open Space and preserving the historically significant lower barn at Walker Ranch Open Space.
For more information, visit www.bouldercounty.org/youthcorps or call the Youth Corps office at 303-678-6104.
Boulder will burn its open space
Mar 13th
The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) department and the Boulder Fire Department will be conducting prescribed grassland burns this month. The burns will be conducted only if environmental and weather conditions fall within city burn plan guidelines. Ignitions will not begin before 10 a.m. and will end no later than 2 p.m.
Prescribed burns will be conducted at the following sites:
- OSMP Fell property, a 15-acre site located north of Valmont Road and east of 75th Street,
- OSMP Van Vleet property, a 25-acre site located west of South Boulder Creek and south of South Boulder Road.
- OSMP Gephard property, a 20-acre site located east of South Boulder Creek, north of South Boulder Road, and west of Cherryvale Rd.
Boulder’s ecosystems have evolved with fire over thousands of years. The prescribed burning of these areas will improve habitat for native plants and wildlife.
Additionally, OSMP, in conjunction with the Boulder Fire Department, will be conducting ditch burns throughout the spring on the city’s agricultural properties. OSMP has significant shares of water rights used primarily to support agricultural activity in the Boulder Valley. Ditch burning is important to the productivity of agricultural cropland and the efficiency of water delivery. Periodic burning removes the build up of plant debris in irrigation ditches and also keeps weeds at bay, reducing herbicide use. Burning is a cost effective way to clear irrigation ditches before the spring water run off.
No burning will occur on Red Air Quality days. Trained fire personnel and natural resource advisors will be on site during this activity.
For questions about prescribed burning on OSMP properties, please call 303-441-3440 or visit www.OSMP.org.