Jun. 11, 2006 - 20:59 MDT

IS IN THE PAPERS

Humanity's course has been westward from the eastern coast of the United States. Unfortunately precious water has not magically followed him. Much land in the west is green only because intricate systems of irrigation have been evolved over the years. Which works pretty well for the years when winter snows had our few rivers full in the spring.

So periodically there are years of drought here in the west. One is in my own memory, a biggie, ten years of it, Dust Bowl Days. In those days it seemed that one couldn't close one's mouth without their teeth gritting.

Of course our city is green, green, green, nice lawns, shrubs and flowers, trees arching over the streets, all the good things that are normal back east. All due to water from our mountains.

From my earliest memories people were buying property in the hills and building cabins, which they used on weekends and holidays.

Later as cars improved, also roads being improved the ability to get to a cabin rapidly allowed some folks to begin to live in the hills permanently, commuting back and forth from town to home. And our mountain population grew by leaps and bounds.

Consequently, most of the time summer time is tinderbox time here. Fires are easily started and almost impossible to control once they get started.

In yesterday's Rocky Mountain News is a big article about the living situations in our mounntains, by Todd Hartman of that paper. Quoting parts of this article, herein:

FIRE MAPS TAG HOMES TO SKIP

Wildfire triage helps districts decide which properties to protect

"Increasingly wary of powerful forest fires, Colorado's mountain fire districts are mapping out which vulnerable homes might be sacrificed to avoid putting firefighters in harm's way and make best use of limited resources."

"In a trend that has taken off since Colorado's disastrous fire season of 2002, fire districts and departments sprinkled throughout the state's vast forested regions are rapidly assembling data to assist in hard decisions about what neighborhoods are defensible and which ones may be left to burn."

"Nothing is set in stone."

"In many cases, even homes highly susceptible to burning -- those with shake-shingle roofs or with forest adjacent to the front door -- would be defended if the fire were small and confined to the ground instead of tree tops."

"But should a fast-rising fire force districts with too few resources to make deployment decisions fast, new maps and software give firefighters instant access to the barriers and hazards some homes pose, be it long driveways, propane tanks in the trees or shrubbery surrounding the foundation."

"Some of those homes, too dangerous -- or pointless -- to defend, fire chiefs say, would end up as fast food for forest fires."

"People need to start hearing this. The public needs to know there are people out there who have already identified the places that aren't safe to go," said Justin Combrowski, director of emergency management for the city and county of Boulder. "We can't wait on this anymore."

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The article goes on at great length but that is the important part of it. In an inset is a map called "Highest fire risk" with the following words, "The Colorado State Forest Service has mapped "red zones" -- places in colorado where urban and forest land overlap and are at highest risk of catastrophic fire. Nearly 1 million people live in the red zones. Terrain, housing density and forest conditions are factors in determining a red zone."

Also in an inset showing protective measures residents of mountain areas should take. Quote:

Protecting your home

**Thin trees, brush to create a "defensible space" around home."

**Clear roof, gutter of debris."

**Mow dry grasses, weeds."

**Stack firewood away from house."

Use non-combustible roofing, avoid cedar shake shingles."

Clear vegetation around fire hydrants, cisterns and propane tanks."

**Post address signs that are clearly visible from street or road."

**Make sure driveway is wide enough for firefighting vehicles."

**Post load limits on ridges leading to your home."

**Officials from from smaller fire districts are usually happy to meet with homeowners to give specific advice."

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The thought (dear to the heart of many folks) of living in a remote area on the land of your own with your little cabin shaded by overhanging pine boughs with the surroundings covered in wild growth, having a narrow road leading to it and requiring a light car to get over the bridge is almost guaranteed to be "Triaged" when a wildfire burns in the vicinity.

In our trips to the hills in the last few years Heather and I have seen some places that have and are making the attempt to make the owners property safe, and other places unkempt -- almost as if a fuse were already lit there.

In my own mind it seems to me that if a wildfire, a crown fire that travels a speed that is unimaginable, that can ignite a tree from a vast distance just from the heat emanated from the fire it seems to me that many homes will be triaged and also even if the home is saved, the land will be pretty grim and unliveable for quite some time.

Some times it seems to pay to pay attention to what IS IN THE PAPERS . . . . . . . . .

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