Today’s Forest Health Outreach update covers the following:
*Forestry Tip of the Day: Time to Cut the Grass
*Wildfire Partners: 500 Homeowners!
* Sort Yard: Did we Mention it is Free?
*Article: 4 Ways to Double Check Your Homeowners Insurance Coverage

*Forestry Tip of the Day: Time to Cut the Grass 
Forestry Tip of the Day: If you haven’t already, it is time to cut your tall grasses and weeds.  Grasses are one of the most abundant surface fuels in Boulder County and wildfires quickly gain momentum when burning in tall grass. Many homes are lost in wildfires each year because homeowner’s didn’t take personal responsibility to keep their grasses short.

Cut grasses and weeds as often as needed throughout the growing season and keep them shorter than 6 inches.

Where to focus your time:
• Mow/weed whip within 30 feet of your home and all outbuildings.
• Keep grasses shortest within close proximity structures.
• Cut grasses within 15-30 feet of roads and driveways.
• For extra protection cut grasses under and around all conifers and bushes close to the home (about 100 feet).

Be especially careful when mowing in areas of rocks. Mower blades can hit rocks and create sparks, causing fires in dry grass. Consider mowing only when humidity is high or after recent moisture.

*Wildfire Partners: 500 Homeowners! 
We are excited to announce that we reached our goal of accepting 500 homeowners into Wildfire Partners in 2014! Thanks to all of our readers who signed up! Make sure to say Hi to our wildfire mitigation specialists if you see them working in your neighborhood.

This summer we have already helped 326 homeowners understand their home’s biggest vulnerabilities to wildfires. If you didn’t have a chance to sign up for the program and are still interested please visit www.WildfirePartners.org to put your name on our waitlist.  We are applying for additional grants to provide funding for the program in 2015.

*Sort Yard: Did we Mention it is Free? 
Our friendly, smiling sort yard staffers Wayne, Holly and Nathan are ready to take all of your cut branches, logs, shrubs, pine needles and grass clippings. If you are cutting to improve your wildfire mitigation chances are high we will take the cut material off your hands, for no charge.

New this summer, both sort yards will now accept logs that are currently infested with mountain pine beetle (MPB) during the seasonal beetle flight. MPB populations continue to decline and the risk of infestation is significantly less today than it was even a few years ago. In addition, the benefit gained from cutting during beetle flight outweighs the risk of beetles flying during transportation.

Before hauling visit: www.bouldercounty.org/property/forest/pages/fhsortyards.aspx for complete program details.

*Article: 4 Ways to Double Check Your Homeowners Insurance Coverage
Have you checked your homeowners insurance policy lately? To learn more about how to double check your coverage read the following article: http://uphelp.org/library/resource/4-ways-double-check-your-homeowners-insurance-coverage

Cheers,
Ryan

Ryan Ludlow | Forestry Education & Outreach Coordinator 
Boulder County | Land Use Department
O: 720.564.2641 | F: 303.441.4856
rludlow@nullbouldercounty.org | www.bouldercounty.org/ForestHealth
*Please visit our website to join our Forest Health Outreach eNewsletter. Learn about upcoming forestry workshops, wildfire mitigation, bark beetle management tips and more!