Wildland
THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF………………..chainsaws
A cooperative agreement between Boulder Rural, Four Mile, Sunshine, Boulder Mountain and Gold Hill Fire Department has lead to a grant through the Colorado State Forest Service for $60,000. The grant will be used to complete a shaded fuel break around the Poorman subdivision. The estimate for the project is $70,000. The Poorman Community, along with the homeowners in the Fourmile and Sunshine district, are raising the matching funds of $40,000 to satisfy the grant and complete the project. The community had raised over $30,000 by mid-March. The project will tie in with Boulder Mountain Fire Department mitigation on the north side of Sunshine Canyon.
Representatives from the above departments, along with the Colorado State Forest Service, met with homeowners. There were two community meetings held to discuss the project. The project was identified in the recently completed Boulder Rural Fire Protection District CWPP (Community Wildfire Protect Plan) as a high priority. The timeline for the project included flagging the boundary area (two areas, Poorman and Dry Gulch), and painting trees to be removed. Homeowners were given the opportunity to review the marked trees on their property and flag those trees they didn’t want removed. The cutting of the trees began on April 1st and the project should be completed by mid to late summer. The project will reduce fire danger as the Poorman community is surrounded by thick stands of Ponderosa Pine and steep slopes leading up to their homes. An additional escape route road (from Goat Barn Road to Sunshine) will also be improved so residences on the upper portion of the community have an additional escape route in the event of a wildfire. The success of this project is due to the cooperation among fire departments and the homeowners in the Poorman community.