In our Northern Colorado community, wildfires are a natural and regular occurrence. Though commonly seen during the Colorado wildfire season of May through September, these fires can take place any time of the year when favorable conditions present themselves. And though your Greeley Fire Wildland Fire Team remains on alert and ready to respond every day, major wildfires in recent years such as the Cameron Peak Fire in 2020 and Marshall Fire in 2021 have shown the destructive force these fires can have on an unprepared community.
If you live in an area that interfaces with wildland vegetation such as grasses, shrubs, trees and more, your home may be at risk of being affected by a fire. Even in the middle of the city, you and your family may still be subjected to the effects of a nearby wildfire including drifting wildfire smoke or needing to evacuate the area, among others. It’s important that we take charge as a community in preparing for these fires and helping to ensure we remain resilient in the event of a destructive wildfire. Read below to learn about the different ways our community can prepare for a wildfire in our area.
Before A Wildfire
Preparing for a wildfire before it happens affords you the time to ensure you, your family, and your home are ready in case a fire breaks out. But what are the right steps to take now?
Sign Up For Emergency Alerts
Though it may seem obvious to know when a wildfire is occurring, it’s important to stay informed as soon as information becomes available. We encourage all our residents and visitors to sign up for CodeRED, a free community emergency notification system through Weld County. Alerts are sent based off your preferred address, so you will only receive notifications relevant to you. Click here to learn more and sign up.
Prepare a Go Bag and Emergency Plan
In the event that you need to evacuate your home during a wildfire, having a kit ready to go allows you to leave quickly with important supplies that you’ve already checked. Visit Ready.gov for information on how to design and pack your kit now. Remember to keep it handy during the wildfire season so you can easily grab it and evacuate if necessary. While you’re preparing your bag, take the opportunity to talk with your family and friends about organizing an emergency plan. Talk with those that live in your house about how you can work together if an evacuation order is issued, find at least two evacuation routes out of your neighborhood to main streets, and confirm how you will get a hold of those you care about.
Learn About Home Design and Defensible Space
According to the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS), the two primary determinants of a home’s likelihood of surviving a wildfire are the ignitability of the home’s building materials and the organization and maintenance of defensible space around the structure. Though the ideal time for making fire-resistant design choices would be before the home is built, there are still many steps you can take after construction is complete to increase your home’s survivability.
The CSFS structural ignitability recommendations include:
- Ensure the roof has a Class A fire rating
- Remove all leaves, needles and other debris from decks, roofs and gutters
- Screen attic, roof, eaves and foundation vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh
- Screen or wall-in stilt foundations and decks with 1/8-inch metal mesh
- Use tempered glass for windows; two or more panes are recommended
- Create 6 inches of vertical clearance between the ground and home siding
- Replace combustible fencing or gates, at least within 5 feet of the home
On an ongoing basis, you should be ensuring that the vegetation in the area around your home is maintained to reduce the amount of fuel available to burn and possibly spread the fire to your home or your neighbors’ homes. Consider the below recommendations for properly maintaining the defensible space around your home:
- Mow grass and weeds to a height of 4 inches or less.*
- Rake and remove all pine needles and other flammable debris from a 5-foot radius around the foundation of your home and deck.*
- Treat or mow shrubs that re-sprout aggressively (such as Gambel oak) every 3-5 years or more depending on growth rates.
- Remove branches that hang over the roof and chimney.
- Dispose of slash from thinning trees and shrubs by chipping, hauling to a disposal site or piling in open areas for burning later. Any accumulation of slash that’s chipped or otherwise should be isolated 30 feet or more from the home.*
- Avoid creating continuous areas of wood chips on the ground when chipping logs and/or slash. Break up the layer of wood chips by adding nonflammable material, or allow for wide gaps of at least 3 feet between chip accumulations.
*Address as needed, more than once a year.
The above information and pictures are provided by the Colorado State Forest Service and we encourage you to visit their website to learn more about the steps you can take to prepare your home for wildfires here.
How does the Greeley Fire Department prepare our community for wildfires?
Apparatus
Every day, the Greeley Fire Department staffs several specialized fire apparatus that are able to quickly respond to wildfires. Two Type 6 Wildland Engines and two Type 1 Tactical Tenders are strategically placed throughout our district at Greeley Fire Stations. These apparatus expand our crews’ abilities to mount swift and effective responses by bringing firefighting equipment out into the wildland areas that normal fire engines can’t reach as effectively. Interested in learning more? Check out our stations page to see them!
Training
Each year, the Greeley Fire Department spends time making sure our firefighters and community are prepared for wildfires. Since wildfires are fought differently than structure fires, firefighters spend time training on tools and tactics utilized in a wildfire response to remain competent and confident in their actions.
The Greeley Fire Department also participates in a national coordinating program that allows the sharing of firefighting resources as needed for larger incidents. In the event that our staff or equipment are requested, the Greeley Fire Department first confirms that our service area is adequately staffed and supplied before offering assigning resources to an incident outside of our jurisdiction.
Prescribed Burning Operations
Much like creating defensible space around your home reduces the amount of fuel available for a wildfire to burn, prescribed burning operations allow for potentially dangerous amounts of vegetation growth to be disposed of in a safe and closely-monitored way. The Greeley Fire Department in conjunction with The City of Greeley’s Natural Areas & Trails Division and partnering agencies work to identify areas across the City of Greeley where prescribed burning operations can have a meaningful impact at reducing this fuel. When considering locations and dates for prescribed burns, representatives from these agencies take into account hundreds of factors that are prioritize the safety of the public and responders. Information about these burns are communicated through City of Greeley and Greeley Fire Department social media accounts in the time period before a burn, including a final decision in the days leading up to the burn.
Resources
Looking for more information? Please check below for links to organizations with comprehensive information about their respective specialties. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to email [email protected] or call 970-350-9510.
- Comprehensive Preparedness Guide from “Ready, Set, Go!”
- Colorado State Forest Service Wildfire Mitigation
- Fire Adapted Colorado