Is your home at risk? Answer these questions to find out:
- Do you have a shake shingle roof?
- Do you have wood piles or rubbish stacked under a deck or near the side of your house?
- Is there tall grass or vegetation (>4 inches) growing next to your house?
- Are there overhanging limbs near the roof of your home?
- Is there a continuous forest canopy leading to your home?
- Do you have lots of low limbs and vegetation (that can carry a surface fire up into the tree tops) near your house?
- Is your street address hard to see from both directions at night?
- Is your driveway too narrow for a large truck (12 ft wide, 14 ft high)?
If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions above, your home is at increased risk in the event of a wildfire. Why not do everything in your control to protect your home? In the event of a major wildfire, local resources could be overwhelmed, and your preparation may make the difference in saving your home.
The Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District and surrounding areas are very beautiful with large amounts of trees and wild countryside. Unfortunately, this makes it a high wildfire danger area and we must all be vigilant to prevent any disasters. We are experienced firefighters with a vast knowledge of mitigation techniques which we can utilize to make sure you are as safe as possible in your home. Steve Lynn is available for free consultations on mitigation and forest health at your property by appointment.
The Mitigation Program
We are currently operating the Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District’s Wildfire Mitigation program in 2020 year round.
As in the past, we will be available to work with individual home owners to provide recommendations for defensible space, and to provide cutting, and chipping services. Just like last year, our coordinator Steve will be happy to visit your home and discuss your mitigation needs plus provide an estimate at no cost to you. Like last year, if you are doing the cutting yourself we want you to pile your slash along your driveway or other accessible area instead of along the road. This is safer and reduces problems with county road maintenance.
At BMFPD we offer competitive rates and the money you spend stays in the local firefighting community and allows us to obtain grants for community level projects. The 2009 rate for cutting and slash hauling is $55/hour/person. The rate for chipping is $95/hour in district and $125/hour out of district (minumum 1 hour). Burning is at $55/hour. It typically takes one hour to chip the slash that a crew of three produces in a full day. We will gladly prepare an estimate of the work to be completed based on our recommendation for your property and will explain it to you so that you know exactly what the costs will be.
Got questions? Want details? Call BMFPD Station 1 at (303) 440-0235 or send us an email here.
Sign up early and be sure to welcome the crew when you see them working in your neighborhood. They will be working hard for you and the fire districts we serve! The BMFPD mitigation crew is the best in the area and they provide a double benefit to BMFPD because they are also qualified firefighters who can respond quickly during the day to emergencies in your area as part of the county task force.
IMPORTANT CUTTING AND CHIPPING INFORMATION
- Slash needs to be placed along driveway or other accessible area, not along the road.
- The maximum size is 10” and slash needs to be clean and free of dirt, rocks, metal, etc.
- Our chipping rates includes two persons, all inclusive.