structure preparation

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Taking your wildfire mitigation to the next level

In addition to the vegetation portion of defensible space, the structure itself should be considered to increase it’s chances of surviving a wildfire event. When the members of our mitigation crew are dispatched to fires throughout the Rocky Mountain Region they are often assigned the task of structure protection. This involves assessing a number of homes and mitigating  hazards that exist before a fire arrives. Time is often the limiting factor in the decision process as to what can be done but they try and mitigate as many points of home ignition as they can.

BMFPD now offer this service to homeowners in advance of the fire season, or during the season as conditions demand. The service includes a free assessment and then a variety of services designed to reduce or eliminate fuels and ignition sources within the home ignition zone. These annual requirements for maintaining your defensible space include:

  • Moving and re-stacking woodpiles to safe locations

  • Weed whacking to a height of 6 inches or less

  • Limbing low hanging branches within the defensible space

  • Remove debris accumulations from the defensible space

  • Limb branches that overhang the roof if accessible

Below you’ll find a video of a test structure and a mock ember cast that would precede the arrival of the actual fire front. It is common for embers from wildfires to be carried 1/2 mile or even more from the edge of the fire. Notice how the flammable debris around the home is where the embers take hold and then grow, eventually igniting the home.

REMINDER FOR THE HOMEOWNER

The crew serves as the emergency response team responding to emergencies in the Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District, and also to neighboring fire districts. These may include wildland fires, medical emergencies, structure fires, vehicle accidents, and search and rescue operations. So if the crew working on your land disappears rapidly during the day, please be patient, they will return to the job site as soon as possible. We are grateful for your support which allows us to maintain this crew on duty during the work day when most of the BMFPD volunteer responders are at work.