Guest opinion: Smart step toward wildfire and evacuation safety postindependent.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from postindependent.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Photo by Ashley Low
During its quarterly meeting last week, the Summit County Wildfire Council recommended the approval of 11 grant proposals meant to help mitigate the risk of wildfires in the community through hazardous fuels reduction projects and other efforts to move forward with the implementation of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
About 30 community members tuned into a virtual wildfire council meeting Thursday, May 20, when members voted on a number of grant proposals submitted by towns, resident groups and other stakeholders around Summit County. There were 11 proposals, all of which the council recommended funding a potential investment of more than $333,000 from the county government.
In 2017, the Peak 2 Fire ignited near Breckenridge and forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes in the Peak 7 neighborhood and the surrounding area. A year later, the Buffalo Mountain Fire burned its.
Photo from Summit County
A fresh blanket of snow descended over Summit County early this week, and while most residents are focused on taking advantage of the fresh powder on the ski slopes or heading out in their snowshoes, others have already turned their attention to the wildfire season ahead.
As many communities continue to reckon with the impacts of Colorado’s historic wildfire season last year, Summit County officials are asking residents to plan ahead and help mitigate the risks of a major fire in the area.
“The entire effort is all about planning,” said Dan Schroder, Summit County’s CSU extension director. “… Snow continues to fall, but we also need to recall that we have not received the average expected precipitation over the last decade or more. … Even though the hillsides are white and the rivers are flowing, we don’t have as much water as we traditionally have. Drought leads to the fire season being longer, hotter and drier. … The melt is right aroun