During this Colorado Flood Safety
and Wildfire Awareness Week we have discussed floods, flash floods and how to
stay safe when flooding threatens. We
also told you that areas burned by wildfires are highly susceptible to flash
floods within the first two or three years after the wildfire.
Today we will provide you with
the information about wildfire safety and mitigation that could save your life
and minimize destruction to your personal property.
Colorado experienced some very
devastating wildfires in 2013, including the Black Forest Fire, Royal Gorge
Fire, and the West Fork Complex Fire which burned over 100,000 acres of forest.
Two people were killed and over 500 houses were destroyed from the Black Forest
Wildfire.
All wildfires need fuel to burn,
typically in the form of dry vegetation, as often occurs in forests, grasslands
and cured wheat fields. Tragically, some
wildfires also kill people and destroy homes, vehicles and other personal
property. If you live near or within a
forest, grassland or wheat field, there are some actions you can take to
minimize your vulnerability to wildfires.
Homeowner Mitigation
If you are a homeowner, the first
defense against wildfire is to create and maintain a defensible space around
your home. Defensible space is that area
around a home or other structure where fuels and vegetation are treated,
cleared or reduced to slow the spread of wildfire. Creating wildfire defensible zones also
reduces the chance of a structure fire spreading to neighboring homes or the
surrounding forest. Defensible space
also provides room for firefighters to do their jobs when fighting a wildfire.
More information on how to make a
defensible space around your home can be found on the Colorado State Forest
Service website at HTTP://CSFS.COLOSTATE.EDU/PAGES/DEFENSIBLE-SPACE.HTML
Wildfire Safety Tips
During periods of extreme fire
danger in forests and rangelands:
- You should check fire restrictions at http://www.coemergency.com/p/fire-bans-danger.html
- You should avoid being in areas where you might become trapped by a wildfire.
- You should avoid the use of matches or anything else which could ignite a fire.
- You should make sure that hot parts of motorized equipment, such as mufflers, are not allowed to come in contact with dry grasses or other potentially flammable material.
- If you become trapped or cut off by a wildfire see shelter in areas with little or no fuel such as rock slide areas or lakes.
For more information on wildfires
and fire safety please check out the following web sites:
- https://www.readycolorado.com/hazard/wildfire
- HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/RIDGE2/FIRE/
- HTTP://CSFS.COLOSTATE.EDU/
- HTTP://WWW.NIFC.GOV
Colorado Flood Safety and
Wildfire Awareness Week continues through this Saturday.
This blog written by Jim Pringle,
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, WFO Grand Junction
