I never thought wildfire was a danger to my family, my home, or me. And, in the near future hopefully it will be less of a danger than it is today because we plan to implement suggestions we received from the fire department.

Yes, I live in the mountains, but we practically live in downtown Evergreen. Ignorantly I assumed we were more or less immune from wildfire. In my mind, a forest fire is a threat when you live in more isolated, heavily wooded areas.

Then last weekend we had two brush fires across the street - 200 feet away. I freaked out. Thankfully several neighbors called 911 and were immediately on the scene with their garden hoses. By the time I was aware of the fire - looking out our kitchen window - the front of our house was enveloped in smoke and I'm thinking "how in the world am I going to catch the cat and pack her up with the rest of us to get out of here?" Thankfully it wasn't necessary.

The fire department arrived and the fire was extinguished. Yet an hour later I heard sirens again in response to a second fire that had begun in the same yard. Eventually it was determined that a transformer was throwing sparks and when the fire was squelched once again, Xcel was on the scene to fix the problem.

The scare was over, but I felt my family was in danger. What if the fire had started during the week when fewer people were home, or at night when people weren't working in their yards and able to respond immediately? It could've been a very different outcome.

This incident caused me to take a good look at our home's immediate fire dangers. The first thing I noticed was the transformer in our back yard and the tall grass on the side of our house and in the back behind our fence. Easily solved - a quick weed whack and a mow - except it wasn't our grass.

We have a great relationship with our side neighbor, but we've never talked to the neighbor behind us. I had mixed feelings - here was an opportunity to meet our neighbors - yet I felt it was only because I was complaining. Not the sort of neighbor I'd personally like to meet.

As I strategized on a neighborly approach (bake cookies? Offer to help mow it?) I realized that facts would help. Who was I to say the long grass posed a fire threat? So I called the Evergreen Fire/Rescue and had the pleasure of speaking to Einar Jensen.

In response to my concerns, Einar offered a fuel assessment of our property. This assessment is available free of charge to all Evergreen Fire Protection District residents. It takes about 40 minutes and he explains the basics of our local fire danger and the importance of every mitigation improvement to ensure a property is more fire resistant. Our area is especially blessed to have this service as most fire departments do not have the staff to provide this assistance.

When Einar arrived for our scheduled appointment he explained the goal of the assessment is to make homes less vulnerable to fire and that it would be great some day to not have to stop fire as it is part of a healthy ecosystem but rather to have the fire burn through the area and bypass your home. We have painfully learned this lesson in Yellowstone and other areas where fire has been prevented over the years and then the area is eventually devastated by a fire.

According to Colorado State University's website:
"The primary determinants of a home's ability to survive wildfire are its roofing material and the quality of the "defensible space" surrounding it. Even small steps to protect your home and property will make them more able to withstand fire."

"Defensible space provides room for firefighters to do their jobs. Your house is more likely to withstand a wildfire if grasses, brush, trees and other common forest fuels are managed to reduce a fire's intensity."

"The measure of fuel hazard refers to its continuity, both horizontal (across the ground) and vertical (from the ground up into the vegetation crown). Fuels with a high degree of both vertical and horizontal continuity are the most hazardous, particularly when they occur on slopes. Heavier fuels (brush and trees) are more hazardous (i.e. produce a more intense fire) than light fuels such as grass."

"Tall grass will quickly carry fire to your house."

HEAT
Einar explained that the fire threat to our homes comes from radiant* heat, convective* heat and embers*. Convective heat is generally a problem on a steep slope - thankfully not the case for our home. But there are ember traps aplenty in our yard.

Ember Traps
I was alarmed to learn that an ember can travel from a fire a mile away, land in a yard and start a new fire. Following are a few ember traps to be avoided.
1. Wood chips - we have woodchips throughout our yard and in flowerbeds close to our house. Einar recommended using stone or gravel instead - essentially installing a rock "moat" around the house.
2. Straw and moss in flower planters
3. Pine needles - in yard, on roof, in gutters, on and under decks,
4. Junk under the deck - we had old wooden Adirondacks we are planning to redo someday, a potting bench, firewood and gas cans! Einar recommended a new home for the gas cans - or putting them in an old steel file cabinet.

FIRE FUEL
Trees
Einar pointed out the type of trees we have in our yard, explaining that Ponderosa Pines were indigenous to the area and highlighting several older trees in our yard that had probably withstood a couple of fires in their lifetimes. (The last major fire in Evergreen was long before we, its bipedal residents had moved in. And yes - it would be reasonable to think that we are due for another.) Ponderosa are the long needle trees currently predominant throughout Evergreen.

" Fir trees are bad," Einar explained, running his fingers over their soft, short, green needles. "They will out compete the Ponderosas and they take more nutrients and water. We recommend you thin them more than other species." Some Firs are planted by residents and others find their way into our yards naturally - they are a succession forest when the area has not had the fire required to maintain the ecosystem.

Blue Spruce also need a great deal of water but will not compete with the Ponderosas so they are okay. Blue Spruce have a bluish tint to their short needles.

Aspen trees take a great deal of water, but are less likely to burn and are recommended for preventative landscaping in the mountains.

Einar also assessed where our trees are placed (proximity to the house), how close together they are (if branches are intertwined and the trees are too close together it is horizontal fuel for the fire to race across,) and the "ladder" fuel (the branches at the bottom of the tree can catch fire which quickly moves up a tree, but if the bottom 6-8 feet of the lowest branches are removed, there is less of a chance that tree will catch fire from the ground).

Unfortunately, years back someone marked our property line with a row of trees and they are close enough together that their branches intertwine. The recommendation is to take out every other tree. After we determine beyond a doubt whose property they are on, we hope to get a bid for moving these trees elsewhere in the yard.

Firewood
Since we live in the mountains, most of us have fireplaces - so the dilemma is where to safely put the firewood? During the summer it should be as far away from the house as possible. In the winter it obviously makes sense to have some of it conveniently closer.

Our woodpile is on the west side of our house. Einar pointed out that we get strong winds from the west and if this wood were to catch fire it would blow any flames right at our house. We will be moving the wood.

BE PREPARED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF FIRE
Unfortunately, the best precautions won't eliminate every possibility of fire but being prepared will improve your home's chances of survival in case a fire does threaten.
1. Have an easily visible, large, well lit address on your home
2. Provide easy access for fire engines - a good driveway clear of cars and junk
3. If you call 911 to contact the fire department for an emergency, don't panic and make sure to stay on the line to answer all of their questions
4. Develop and practice an evacuation plan with your family
5. Install escape ladders in second story and up windows
6. Arrange for a contact person in another area code - and provide this person's information to anyone who will need an update on your whereabouts in case of an evacuation
7. At a minimum, have a fire extinguisher in the garage and kitchen

Fire Extinguisher Safety - PASS
Einar was happy to see that we had a fire extinguisher in our garage, but then asked if I knew how to use it. "Well...um...no." I had probably read the directions when we bought it but never thought about it again. He had a great Mnemonic tool for remembering how to use it - because who has time to read the directions when something's on fire?

PASS - Pull pin, Aim nozzle (at the base of the flame), Squeeze the handle or trigger, Sweep across the fire.

EVACUATION
If you receive the Sheriff's call for evacuation, it is recommended that in addition to your family you pack up the four P's and take them with you - Pets, Pills, Papers and Photos.

If you have time (you don't see smoke or fire in the vicinity) -
1. Close heavy blinds on the windows (remove light lacy blinds as they can burn from the heat and start a fire inside your home)
2. Move upholstered furniture away from the windows
3. Turn on and leave on your outdoor sprinkler system but do not hose down your house as the heat will immediately evaporate the water
4. Lock your front door but leave your back door open - in case the firefighters need to use your house as shelter or if they need to put out a fire within your house
5. Leave your hoses out and hooked up
6. Leave out a chain saw
7. Take your propane tank for the barbecue with you or put it in the house but do not worry about turning off your utilities
8. Leave a large note taped to the front door including: your last name, the number of people and animals that live in the house and who left and if any remain, where the hoses are located, and where any propane is located

Most of Einar's recommendations for our home were maintenance issues except for the removal or moving of about six trees. My first thought was "no way, we're not cutting down trees". But then I learned that Evergreen Fire/Rescue has the resources to fight two to three structural fires at the same time. That's it, no more. As I look out my window at two of our neighbors with their wood shake roofs, I shudder and reconsider cutting down the trees to give our home a fighting chance.

*Glossary of Terms from www.merriamwebster.com
Radiant meaning "to proceed in a direct line from or toward a center"
Convective meaning "the circulatory motion that occurs in a fluid at a non-uniform temperature owing to the variation of its density and the action of gravity heat"
Ember meaning a spark or "glowing fragment from a fire"

To schedule a fuel assessment, contact:
Einar Jensen, Evergreen Fire/Rescue Community Educator
303-679-4749
ejensen@evergreenfirerescue.com

For more information and resources on creating a defensible space around your home:
www.evergreenfirerescue.com
www.firewise.org

CSU Wildfire Resources
Creating Wildfire-Defensible Zones
Fire-Resistant Landscaping
Forest Home Fire Safety
FireWise Plant Materials
Grass Seed Mixes to Reduce Wildfire Hazard