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Colorado State Forest Service News

More homeowners earn national recognition for wildfire preparedness

Landowners at the base of Mount Princeton earn ninth Firewise USA designation in Chaffee County

Property owners from subdivisions at the base of Mount Princeton near Buena Vista received official designation as a Firewise USA site, marking the ninth designation in Chaffee County.

The communities of Pine Grove Estates, Lost Creek Ranch, Journey’s End, Whispering Pines and Black Forest received the designation in December with guidance from Colorado Firecamp and the Colorado State Forest Service.

“The collaboration at the base of Mount Princeton is a testament to what can be achieved when communities come together to address wildfire risk,” said Kent Maxwell, fire and forestry coordinator with Colorado Firecamp. “This Firewise designation not only protects homes but also strengthens our county’s overall wildfire resiliency.”

eight people hold up a Firewise USA designation sign in front of snow-covered mountains.
Homeowners in multiple subdivisions at the base of Mount Princeton earned Chaffee County’s ninth Firewise USA designation. Pictured, from left to right, in the back row are Lost Creek Ranch HOA Board Member Tom McCracken, Pine Grove Estates HOA Board Member Blane Clark, Colorado Firecamp Fire & Forestry Coordinator Kent Maxwell, Chaffee County Fire Protection District Wildfire Mitigation Coordinator Jeff Zechman and Lost Creek Ranch HOA Board Member Bernal Reneer. Pictured in the front row are Whispering Pines resident Dave Knoll, Colorado State Forest Service Forester Leeza Vasko and Pine Grove Estates HOA Board Member Karen Pate. Photo: Courtesy Envision Chaffee County

 

The Firewise USA program promotes risk reduction through a series of steps including assessments, action plans and mitigation work. The collective effort required to earn the designation protects not only individual homes but also the surrounding landscape.

For Blane Clark of Pine Grove Estates, wildfire mitigation has been a priority since 2013, when he witnessed the devastation of the Black Forest fire in Colorado Springs. “Trimming low-hanging branches and creating defensible space saved my son and daughter-in-law’s home,” Clark said. “That experience underscored the importance of taking action before a fire happens.”

The effort among homeowners in the area began with Chaffee Chips slash haul-away events and grew with participation in the Chaffee Treats program, wherein Colorado Firecamp’s wildland firefighting students provided hands-on assistance by felling trees and cutting firewood and slash to be chipped on-site or burned in piles. The CSFS also established a 110-acre fuel break along Rodeo Road with private contractors and Southwest Conservation Corps chainsaw crews.

The result is a significant increase in wildfire resilience across the area, benefiting multiple neighborhoods and reducing wildfire risk at the base of the iconic 14,000-foot mountain.

“Firewise USA designation is an excellent step towards greater community collaboration for fire mitigation throughout the area,” said Leeza Vasko, a forester with the CSFS Salida Field Office. “It is exciting to see subdivision residents come together and continue working towards a more fire-resilient community in conjunction with fuel reduction work strategically placed on the greater landscape.”

The achievement aligns with the goals outlined in Chaffee County’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which aims to increase the number of Firewise USA sites as part of a larger wildfire mitigation strategy.

Since 2020, the number of Firewise sites in the county has grown from three to nine, with more communities on track to join the program later this year.

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