May 23, 2007 10:15 am US/Mountain
Residents Have Done Little In 5 Years Since Hayman
Homeowners Appear To Ignore Lessons From Colorado's Largest Wildfire
by Paul Day
CONIFER, Colo. (CBS4) ―
-
-
The Hayman Fire in June 2002 burned 138,000 acres over 20 days and destroyed 132 homes southwest of Denver.
Almost 5 years after Colorado's largest wildfire, many homeowners in mountain communities haven't taken action after the warnings that followed the Hayman Fire. The local fire marshal near Conifer said only about 10 percent of homes in one subdivision have done fire mitigation to help protect their homes.
The Hayman Fire scorched 138,000 acres and burned for 20 days. The flames destroyed 132 homes and threatened foothill communities from Woodland Park to Conifer.
Fire and sheriff's departments in the area told CBS4 they're better prepared since Hayman to deal with a large wildfire. But they said they can't do it alone and need homeowners to help make the communities safer.
Authorities said homeowners are either unaware or have grown complacent about the danger of wildfire in the 5 years since Hayman.
"There's a large population turnover here up in the mountains the last 5 years," said Battalion Chief Joe Page of Elk Creek Fire. "So I think a lot of people, Hayman is not a reality to them and I don't think they realize what they're getting in to."
Recent wet weather may have also caused some to think the fire danger is lower, but moisture can actually increase the fire danger in the weeks and months ahead as vegetation grows quickly then dries out. That dry brush can be perfect fuel for wildfires.
Elk Creek Fire held a table-top exercise to simulate what could happen in a real wildfire. The drill showed a wildfire could quickly become a disaster.
"There's very limited entry and exits to that area," said Page. "It's going to be bad, we will lose homes."
He was referring specifically to the King's Valley subdivision, an area called one of the Elk Creek Fire District's "scariest" in a report after the exercise.
The subdivision has 1,000 homes, packed tightly together. They're perched on the side of a mountain with winding roads that make evacuation difficult.
"We see that as soon as the smoke starts to come out of the air, the apathy starts to set in," said Chris White, a wildfire mitigation consultant.
White's company ranked the wildfire hazard of all 40 subdivisions in the Elk Creek district. King's Valley ranked "very high" along with 11 others. Thirteen subdivisions in the area were rated as "extreme."
Jim and Sandy Drennan are in the minority in King's Valley. They removed all 60 tall trees on their lot after the Hayman Fire and put rock close to their home. The couple knows that even with those mitigation efforts, a big fire could still take their home.
"It's going to create its own winds and it's going to go right up the top of the mountain and I don't know there's much anybody can do about that," said Jim Drennan.
For most in King's Valley, nothing has been done. Even longtime homeowner Tom Matthews knows he's taking a risk.
"You want to live in the forest, not on the plains," Matthews said. "If you cut down all the trees, you've got Arapahoe County on a slope."
Additional Resources
- Read an article CBS4 Reporter Paul Day wrote for his community newsletter in Roxborough Park about fire mitigation efforts undertaken by he and his neighbors. Day expresses concern about the recent wet spring erasing the hard work done by the group last year.
(© MMVII CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
