Ran across this study that was done by the Colorado State Forest Service in conjunction with local area officials. So far no one I have mentioned it to here in Jasper knew it existed. It is a hit of an eye opener to say the least! Out of the nearly 100 homes in the greater Jasper area, only about 10 are expected to survive a forest fire. The maps with the red "x" or purple check Mark's (survivable) are sobering!
The document is in pdf format and can be downloaded here: https://csfs.colostate.edu/media/sites/22/2019/06/CWPP-RioGrandeSouthArea-April_2019.pdf
So is your home a red X, or a purple check?
Wow sobering read. I will encourage all to take a look at this!
Thanks very much for identifying this document and the critical issues!
We too have been clearing downfall. It has been a whole summer project but just yesterday we hauled the last 4 trailloads up to our slash pile, ready for disposal at a later date. We have cleared some of the juniper brush back, mainly around the cabin but as we are on a pretty good slope the forest service recommends a much larger secondary zone free of vegetation that burns readily... like juniper brush. We have also removed the lower limbs from our conifers as far as we can reach with the chainsaw and will be using our neighbor's pole saw to get the higher limbs that drape close to the ground. The recommended height is no limbs closer than 10' off the ground. We have moved the firewood more than 30' from the cabin... still have a stack on the porch, yep that is a no, no, but convenient! We screened the front porch base after racking all the leaves out but still need to enclose the back deck.
Areas under porches and decks are apparently some of the most likely to catch flying embers and ignite the homes... dry under there and often lots of easily ignited duff.... oh yeah and stored lumber... yep guilty again!
There are a lot of resources out there from the Colorado Forest Service, the US Forest Service and BLM to help folks understand what it takes to firewise their property. In just about every publication there is a simple statement that reads something like, "when living in a forested environment it is not a matter of "if," but a matter of "when" a forest fire will sweep through your area."
We want to turn our "red x" into a purple check.... we hope others will too!
Wow, this really is a well done report, thanks for sharing. I have one in the red and another that is safe and will be taking a hard look at doing a 30' defensible radius. I've been focusing on removing deadfall and other combustibles but that's clearly not enough. Sobering is right.