![]() ![]() “To my knowledge, there’s not a large watershed anywhere really in Colorado that I would say, ‘Yeah, they’ve treated that to a level that it’s resilient for the next wildfire,’” Lawhon said, adding that some areas are nearing that 20% mark. For example, in ponderosa pine forests land managers should treat 20% to 40% of the entire watershed before post-fire impacts, like sedimentation and soil degradation, are less severe.Ĥ:15 AM MDT on 9:08 AM MDT on Jun 8, 2023 Work is happening across the state, but treatments are not at the pace and scale needed to match the size and impacts of wildfires today, Lawhon said. ![]() Colorado and other states in the Colorado River Basin, which supplies water to 40 million people across the West, are enduring a 23-year drought, which research indicates is the worst in 1,200 years. Fortunately for the first time in a long time, Congress has seen fit to provide resources under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.” Treating wildfires in ColoradoĪ combination of climate change and human factors - including the proliferation of homes where fires are difficult to control - has led to a longer fire season and costlier, more destructive wildfires. “We are very, very interested in reducing that risk. As a result of that, over time, significant risks have occurred,” Vilsack said in Durango. “I’m afraid to say that for many, many years, the federal government was inadequately investing in our forest system. The federal government said the projects will help fire crews respond to wildfires while protecting critical infrastructure, ensuring clean drinking water and supporting local timber industries, according to a U.S. ![]() ![]() The projects focus on high-risk areas identified by Native American tribes, local fire management agencies, businesses, elected officials and scientists. The funds will go to Colorado, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota and Wyoming. On May 4, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited Durango, roughly an hour west of Pagosa Springs, to announce a total of $63 million for fuel breaks from the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed in 2021, and the $700 billion Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which reflect a historic amount of investment, he said. Wildland crews use these fuel breaks as safe spaces to work while battling fires or assisting with prescribed burns. During wildfires, similar undergrowth can act like a ladder and carry flames higher into tree canopies, which helps the fire spread.Ĭlearing it away from roads, rivers and other landscape features helps slow down wildfires, reinforces existing barriers and enlarges the buffer zone. North of Pagosa Springs in Archuleta County, the 2021 fuel break project cleared shrubs and small trees across about 100 acres in a narrow, 25-foot-wide strip along Fourmile Road. “(The Plumtaw fire) is a very good example of where … strategic fuel breaks in real life have a direct impact on saving a watershed,” said Jason Lawhon, the Forest Service’s shared stewardship program manager for the San Juan National Forest. Forest Service and its local, state, tribal and federal partners in other sectors are primed to use it in high-risk areas. A $13 million chunk of that funding is landing right back in southwestern Colorado, where the U.S. This month, the federal government announced it is sending $46.7 million, from trillion- and multibillion-dollar packages passed in 20, to Colorado to fund similar fuel breaks around the state. The fuel break, completed in 2021, was strategically located for that exact purpose. When the Plumtaw fire grew rapidly to about 700 acres just 7 miles north of Pagosa Springs, fire responders knew they already had a stretch of land - cleared of underbrush and next to a road - where they could push the flames away from the subdivision and water ditch. Colorado national forests receive $47 million for wildfire barriers CloseĭURANGO - A year ago on May 17, it wasn’t an act of God or luck that helped hold back an encroaching wildfire from a small subdivision and a primary water source in southwestern Colorado. ![]()
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