STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO-July 24, 2023-Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue (SSFR) is underway implementing a four-year effort to mitigate critical infrastructure and improve wildland fire prevention on Emerald Mountain starting this summer.
“As we’ve seen over the years — recent years, anyway — wildfires are increasingly unpredictable,” said Chief Chuck Cerasoli in an interview. “The biggest concern, and what we saw over in Grand Lake and in other areas, is a fast-moving wildfire that creates these ember storms. They can really land anywhere.”
With grant funding provided by Colorado State Forest Service, chipping equipment has been secured by SSFR to help with fuels reduction throughout the Steamboat Springs Area Fire District.
The two-person wildland fire crew has hit the ground running and is currently working on Blackmer Road. Timber and brush are being cleared approximately 25 feet from the center of the road and large pieces are being bundled in piles for burning, and chipping/removal later.
Over the summer, the local SSFR team will be working their way down the popular trail road as well as on Prayer Flag Rd and Lane of Pain to reduce fuels, creating valuable zones to slow or stop a wildfire. In addition, mitigation efforts using a variety of methods in adjacent neighborhoods, like Fairview and Brooklyn, will be the focus of the reduction program.
The Routt County Wildfire Mitigation Council has secured Team Rubicon to join in the effort this summer. Thirty to forty members of this veteran led humanitarian organization will be split into two teams for work around the Communications Towers at the summit and conducting residential assessments on properties that border city land in the Fairview neighborhood. Team Rubicon will also assist SSFR Wildland Fire on work in the zone upslope from the neighborhood.
“After a few discussions between Team Rubicon and local agencies, it was decided that support for the Emerald Mountain project would have a lasting impact and would be a great way to kick off the long-term project,” said Wildfire Mitigation Council executive director Josh Hankes.
A Type-3 Wildland Urban Interface Fire Engine, chipper box truck, and chipper have been added to the department’s arsenal of wildland fire equipment. SSFR seasonal wildland firefighters conduct home assessments, implement mitigation efforts, educate the public and respond/deploy to wildfires.
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Contact
Chuck Cerasoli, Fire Chief, Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue, 970.879.7170 or email
Leighton White, Wildland Fire Specialist, Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue, 970.879.7170 or email
Michael Lane, Communications Manager, 970.871.8220 or email