Colorado officials have confirmed that the state is looking at the worst wildfire season in five years. The 2012 and 2013 season devastated lands after blazes ravaged woodland across the whole state. Fears about the current weather forecast are rampant. The dry winter has already left mountain areas almost barren. This doesn’t set the ground ready for what is likely to be a hot and dry summer. While it may be too early to tell for definite, this is the perfect time to get ahead and plan for potential wildfires spreading like crazy. The U.S. Drought Monitor confirmed that snowpack levels are much lower than the average, with 87/62% of the state suffering from dry to extreme drought conditions. Only
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Did you know that if you perform certain wildfire mitigation measures on your property, you could be eligible to claim a subtraction from your Colorado income tax? This subtraction is equal to 50% or 100% of all qualifying costs needed for mitigation, up to $2,500 per year.Can You Qualify? As long as you meet specific qualifications and perform the wildfire mitigation measures around your property, you may be eligible for the wildfire mitigation tax subtraction. You must be the owner of record for any private land that the mitigation process is carried out, including through fee simple interest, easement, right of way, and lease. This ownership can be sole or joint. You cannot claim for the mitigation on public land,
A defensible space is something your rural home needs to protect from fire. Firewise landscaping helps to plan for all the possibilities and create a beautiful defensible space. A range of plant materials are used to create a space that adds value to your home, while keeping the family safe. Firewise Landscaping and Deciduous Species of Plants Firewise landscaping will use mostly deciduous species of plants. These are low amounts of sap and resin, meaning they don’t have the same fuel that other plants tend to have. This doesn’t mean you can’t have others, but deciduous look good and beautiful in the summer. You will need to collect the leaves that fall during the winter. The dead leaves will become
A forest home can be peaceful and calming, but there is always the fear of a wildfire. With some precautions and planned out defensible spaces, you can minimize the risk of a wildfire affecting your home. Before you build your forest home or you get settled in a prebuilt one, make sure you take these safety precautions. Forest Home Wildfire Safety Tip: Understand the Limitations Getting the fire departments out to the rural areas isn’t easy. The majority of the departments are run by volunteers, so aren’t around all the time. The water supplies are also minimal, which can mean putting fires out is much harder. Then there’s the roads that are steep and narrow, which make it difficult for
Fire Mitigation Landscaping Fire mitigation landscaping has becoming more relevant as more people are building their homes in natural brushlands and forests. It’s essential that the forestry areas are removed safely with care taking for fire mitigation. Drought conditions and changing extremities in the weather are causing a bigger fire risk than in previous decades. Fire mitigation landscaping doesn’t stop homes from being built. It just encourages the creation of defensible space, creating breaks from the fire and allowing firefighters room to do their jobs safely. Fire Mitigation Landscaping Creates Defensible Space Without Affecting the Beauty The important thing about defensible space is that the area will still look good. The property value is increased when the space is created
Wildfires can start when there are three ingredients: oxygen, fuel, and heat. As soon as one of them is no longer present, the wildfire will end. Those three elements are also known as the fire triangle. Let us look at every ingredient of this triangle. Oxygen is always present. The fuel in the forest can be dead trees, branches, dry grass, scrub oak as well as trash, paper, fence and outbuildings. The third ingredient, heat, can come from natural and unnatural sources. Lightning strike to the ground or a tree can start a fire. Power lines torn down by high winds can provide heat to start a wildfire. Although a wildfire can start from a natural cause, human activity is
Every year thousands of wildfires range across the United States. On the news and in the social media we see numerous pictures of exhausted firefighters, destroyed structures, ruined homes, and scorched forests. It is easy to start thinking about fires as a destructive enemy. But for many centuries wildfires have been a part of natural cycle of ecosystem. In the past wildfires occurred but they did not cause significant damage. Benefits of wildfires: Removing dead, diseased branches, trees, bushes, and grasses Preparing land for new growth. Maintaining healthy forest condition Controlling insect outbreaks and diseases It seems like with each passing year, the number of wildfires occurred continues to grow. Experts in the field offer several reasons: 1. One of
Fire mitigation checklist are steps that will help you protect your home during a wildfire. A lot of houses in Douglas county as well as along Colorado foothills are located in a high-risk zone for wildfires and part of wildland-urban interface.. It is imperative for homeowners to do fire mitigation work.These measures will increase the chance of your home’s survival during a wildfire. They will also reduce the fuels around your home by creating a defensible space. Defensible space is the area around your house and other structures on your property that has been modified to reduce fire hazard. Fire Mitigation Checklist for Defensible Space Creation: Thinning and pruning trees and shrubs Creating fire breaks Reduce surface fuels under the