Today’s forest health outreach update covers the following topics:
*Forestry Tip of the Day: Enjoy the snow!
*Wildfire Mitigation Challenge Outreach: Week Number Four – Retrofitting your Home
*October Wildfire Awareness Month: Chipping Day in Coal Creek on Sunday Oct. 28

*Forestry Tip of the Day: Enjoy the snow! 
Forestry Tip of the Day: It sure is nice to see some white fluffy snow on the ground today. We hope everyone stays safe as they navigate the slippery roads. Snow means the ski season is approaching (can you tell that I am a skier?) and the risk of wildfire is reduced when snow is on the ground.

We are in the final week of October Wildfire Awareness Month and the Wildfire Mitigation Challenge. One hundred and twenty-three landowners have already joined theChallenge and begun taking action on their land. If you haven’t signed up for the challenge yet there is still time to enter to win prizes. The deadline to enter is October 31, 2012.

Here is a quick snapshot of total participation in the Challenge by Fire Protection District:  Boulder Mountain 29, Nederland 16, Sugarloaf 14, Lefthand 11, Timberline 9, Gold Hill 8, Allenspark 7, Fourmile and Rocky Mountain each with 5, Coal Creek and City of Boulder each with 4, Boulder Rural, Sunshine, Jamestown each with 3 and City of Longmont with 1.

Why is this important??   The Fire Protection District with the highest percentage of landowners signed up by the end of the month will win a free county sponsored community chipping day in 2013!

*Wildfire Mitigation Challenge Outreach: Week Number Four – Retrofitting your Home
* Thanks to everyone who already signed up for the Wildfire Mitigation Challenge. The following information complements week # 4 challenge checklist tasks.

The theme for week four of the Challenge is “retrofitting your home.” Most homes in unincorporated Boulder County were built before our county wildfire mitigation building regulations were put in place. Older homes without fire resistant construction are at greater risk for loss during future fires. Home survival data from the Fourmile fire clearly demonstrates the benefits of ignition resistant building materials. Homes built before our wildfire mitigation regulations went into place saw a 62% survival rate during the Fourmile Fire. Homes built after our wildfire mitigation building regulations were put in place jump from 62% to 84% survival rates, a 35% increase. In addition, as we strengthened our building codes over time we observed 100% survival rates (10 out of 10) on homes built from 2000-2010.

If your home is built out of flammable building materials there are many possibilities to retrofit with fire resistant materials. There are also many ways to work with the materials you have and still implement effective wildfire mitigation on your land. We won’t be able to cover all retrofit options in this eNewsletter edition, but look for workshops next summer focused on retrofitting your home with ignition resistant building materials.

When evaluating a homes building materials we try to encourage landowners to stop looking at your home as a home and instead start looking at it like any other wildland “fuel.” To evaluate the strengths and weakness of your home, start at the roof and work down toward the foundation. Older homes often ignite because thousands of flying embers enter cracks, holes and openings on siding, vents, roof lines, and garage doors.  The take home message is: If your home does not ignite, it will not burn.

An easy first step is to check to make sure all attic, crawl space and soffit vents have corrosion-resistant 1/8 inch sized wire mesh screening attached. Another easy step is to make sure that nothing flammable is stored on top of and under your flammable decks. Also make sure you have a non-flammable barrier of 3-5 feet surrounding all walls, decks and outbuildings.

Here are a few more questions to ask yourself:
*Does your home have fire resistant roofing materials? Does it have metal flashing on the chimneys and along complicated rooflines to prevent embers from collecting and igniting wooden siding? Are there any gaps in the shingles or other opens on the roof that could let in embers? Do you have plastic skylights that could melt?
*What are your gutters made out of? Are they filled with pine needles and leaves? Metal gutters will hold up better against embers than vinyl gutters.
*What type of siding material is the home constructed out of? Are there a lot of gaps, holes and rotten wood present? If yes, embers might penetrate this outer layer and ignite the hidden flammable material behind the siding. Some holes can be filled with cocking and rotten boards can be replaced or possibly reattached to the wall.
*Do you have double paned and even better tempered glass installed in all windows?
*Are there cracks and openings on garage doors, front doors or dog doors that embers could penetrate? If yes, can you attach weather stripping and other materials to prevent ember intrusion into these areas?
*Are your accessory structures like sheds and detached garages well mitigated as well? If they ignite will they have the potential to ignite your home?

This week we challenge you to critically evaluate your home and begin researching options and costs related to retrofitting your home. Start developing a plan and work incrementally toward your final goal.

*October Wildfire Awareness Month: Final Chipping Day in Coal Creek on Sunday Oct. 28
Wildfire Awareness Month is quickly winding down and we hope everyone was able to join us at some of the events and activities. A major goal of the month long campaign is to help residents learn about living with wildfires, our disturbance driven forest ecosystems and how we as a community can become more resilient to future wildfires.  Wildfires are inevitable, but there are many actions we can take to adapt our behaviors to live in a wildfire prone area.

Final Community Chipping Event of the Month: Sunday Oct. 28
Our final community chipping event will take place in Coal Creek Canyon this Sunday Oct. 28, 9 a.m to 4 p.m.  Haul your cut slash and logs, less than 12 inches in diameter, to Camp Eden, 11583 Camp Eden Road, Golden, CO.

Visit us online at www.BoulderCountyWildfireAware.org for complete details about what can be dropped off. A $5 donation is request for each load to help support the Saws and Slaws Community Forestry Program (www.SawsandSlaws.com). Saws and Slaws community volunteers, the Colorado State Forest Service and Boulder County staff will help unload and chip your material.

A special thanks to the Colorado State Forest Service Volunteer Program for donating their chipper and recruiting volunteers at this event! If you would like to volunteer with the Colorado State Forest Service on events like these in the future please contact Jamie Dahl, experiential learning coordinator, at 970-988-3667.

Be Aware, Be Prepared, Be Firewise!

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 sign-up to receive emails about forestry workshops, community meetings, bark beetle management tips and more!