Today’s Wildfire Mitigation and Forest Health Newsletter covers the following:

• Wildfire Partners 2016 Season
• Wildfire Training Exercise
• Defensible Space and Boulder County’s 2016 Building Code
• Community Forestry Sort Yards are Open

 Please forward this newsletter to individuals, groups and organizations you know who may be interested.

Tip of the Day: Wildfire Partners is Open for Business

Wildfire Partners is accepting applications for 2016 at www.WildfirePartners.org. The program offers homeowners significant technical and financial assistance to prepare for future wildfires as a result of additional grant funding. Visit our website, call 303-441-1420 or email info@nullwildfirepartners.org with questions.

Wildfire Training Exercise on May 20 and 21

On Friday and Saturday, May 20 and 21, a full-scale wildfire training exercise will be held in partnership with Boulder County agencies, the City of Boulder, Boulder Office of Emergency Management and the Boulder Incident Management Team. The training exercise will involve more than 25 agencies, more than 300 participants and will exercise all elements of a wildland fire incident from the initial response to mass care management.

You may see and hear personnel and equipment associated with this training exercise, which will include helicopter flights. In the exercise, a fictitious wildland fire starts in Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District on a hot, dry, windy summer day. The fire advances quickly and will cause immediate evacuation of residents and threaten homes. The City of Boulder will be involved in the scenario when spot fires cause a threat to the Dakota Ridge and Wonderland Lake neighborhoods.

This is a good reminder that residents should prepare for future wildfires by actively creating and maintaining proper mitigation and become a Wildfire Partner. For more information about the full-scale exercise, please contact the Office of Emergency Management at 303-441-3390.

Defensible Space and Boulder County’s 2016 Building Code Amendments

As of January 2016, applicants may use their Wildfire Partners Certificate to meet the county’s defensible space requirements. In Wildfire Management Zone 1, Boulder County’s Building Code requires defensible space for all additions greater than 200 square feet and all decks (new and replacement). To meet these requirements, applicants may: 1) Submit a Wildfire Partners Certificate, or 2) Comply with the new requirements in the county’s building code (5MB PDF). We encourage homeowners to obtain their certificates now to facilitate their future building projects. For more information, contact a Wildfire Mitigation Specialist at 303-441-3930. For a map of Fire Management Zone 1, visit www.bouldercounty.org/doc/landuse/firezone.pdf.

Community Forestry Sort Yards Are Open for 2016

County residents can drop off slash, logs, and pine needles free of charge at the Nederland Area Sort Yard, 291 Ridge Road, Nederland, and the Allenspark/Meeker Park Area Sort Yard, 8200 Hwy. 7, Allenspark.

• Hours of Operation: Wednesday thru Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Open through Saturday, Oct. 15.

For more information about the sort yards and what materials are accepted, please visit the Boulder County Community Forestry Sort Yards webpage or contact Wayne Harrington at 303-678-6368 or wharrington@nullbouldercounty.org.

Cheers,

Rick, Kyle, Chris and Jim

Boulder County Land Use Department

303-441-3930

WildfireMitigation@nullbouldercounty.org