'We Need Everyone': Fire Experts Plead To Public's Help In Mitigation
DENVER (CBS4) - March is supposed to be Colorado's snowiest month, but more than a week in and we're still very dry.
The lack of moisture has fire agencies across the state getting ready for anything.
The South Metro Fire Department stresses how important it is for all of us to get involved and prepare, in both rural and urban areas.
"Typically, fires don't catch right now because it is so dry. Even the small ember, the smallest heat source can create a fire and with this wind that's been happening. It travels fast," said Kim Spuhler, Risk Reduction Specialist for SMFD.
She says mitigating your property is a key line of defense.
"By the time a wildfire occurs anywhere it's already too late," said Spuhler.
The U.S. Forest Service performed their own form of mitigation this week. They shared video of the Red Feather prescribed burn where 800 acres were torched in the first two days to help reduce the risk of having a severe wildfire in the area.
"Looking at these needles when they fall if they fall on the ground or on a roof or they fall in a gutter, they're like matchsticks. And so if you can keep those clean and away from the house you're saving your house," said Spuhler.
Experts ask you do simple things like keeping grass cut short and clearing the limbs off the base of your trees which can help protect your home.
"We like to see them about six feet high where you don't have any branches," Spuhler said. "Wildfires are everyone's fight and we need everyone."
Wildfire Resources
– Visit CBSDenver.com's Living With Wildfire section.
Wildfire Photo Galleries
– See images from the most destructive wildfires (Black Forest, Waldo Canyon, High Park and Fourmile), the deadliest (Storm King) and largest wildfire (Hayman) in Colorado history.