At the request of Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Pikes Peak Wildfire Prevention Partners conducted an assessment of the Black Forest fire. The PPWPP completed the assessment July 24, and the full report is yet to come.The Black Forest fire sparked June 11 and consumed a total of 14,280 acres and 486 homes, according to a July 16 article posted at gazette.com. According to a July 17 Gazette article, ìAll told, $29 million worth of trees were incinerated by the fire.îKeith Worley, president of the nonprofit PPWPP, said, ìThe primary purpose of the study was to determine if the homeowner implemented defensible spaces that allowed for firefighter safety and effectiveness.îWorley said the assessment focused on other variables as well: determining if community-wide mitigation is effective; determining the level of mitigation done on properties assessed by the Black Forest Fire/Rescue Department over the past three years; and determining fire impacts on forestry and fuel treatments administered by the Colorado State Forest Service in the Black Forest fire burn area over the past 30 years.ìThis assessment is drastically different from all the other assessments in that the frontline people are doing the assessment,î said Worley, who was also part of the Waldo Canyon fire assessment team. ìWeíve got Falcon Fire Protection District, Black Forest Fire/Rescue, Wescott Fire Protection District ñ all these other organizations. Weíve even got civilians and contractors coming in to participate in this.îInterviewing firefighters who fought the Black Forest Fire was a huge part of the assessment, he said. They wanted to get their impressions of what they found when responding to the fire, Worley said.ìWe have an obligation to our firefighters to provide them a safe working environment where they can be effective,î he said. ìA lot of people are ducking that responsibility. Weíre completely frustrated by the inability of homeowners to do the right thing to protect the forest from wildfires, beetle attacks; that kind of thing. The ëI canít cut my treesí attitude is killing the forest.îVernon Champlin, fire marshal with the FFPD, said, ìThere is some inherent risk when you live in this climate. Youíre subjected to fire.ìYou, as a property owner, might move out there to the country and think, ëHow fantastic. I donít even own a lawnmower anymore.í But youíve just become a more vital landowner than youíve ever been in your entire life.îìThe expectation is that some valiant firefighter will stand there with a hose and protect the homeownerís stuff,î Worley said. ìSome evacuees claimed defensible space didnít work but there are caveats. Have they done it (mitigated) for a wide enough zone? Have they worked with neighbors and the neighborhood to expand on that?îìSingle point mitigation is better than none but neighborhood mitigation is better and community mitigation is even better,î Champlin said.One of the main findings thus far shows that the Cathedral Pines subdivision had been mitigated prior to the fire, Worley said. ìThe developer had made a conscious decision to thin the forest there,î he said. ìThe effectiveness of what they did was amazing.î ìThere were places that the Black Forest fire was ripping through the crown (the top part of the tree), and it was coming at Cathedral Pines; and, when it reached there, there wasnít enough fuel in the crown so all the fire fell to the ground,î Champlin said. ìWhen the fire fell to the ground, the firefighters were able to put it out and keep it from spreading. The firefighters were there because it was open and safe and had been mitigated.îWorley anticipates the findings will also show that El Paso County has allowed hazardous fuels to build up in the right-of-ways. ìInstead of the county right-of-ways acting as a buffer to this extreme fire behavior, it contributed to this extreme fire behavior,î he said.As part of the assessmentís final report, Worley said the PPWPP is developing a video featuring firefightersí experiences during extreme wildfire behavior, as they attempt to protect a structure. The video should help stress the importance of homeowner mitigation, he said.The assessment will also be used to provide training to firefighters, community leaders, contractors and consultants, Worley said. ìIíve heard that people canít afford it (to mitigate around their homes),î he said. ìBut where thereís a will, thereís a way. I cringe when I drive by some of the properties. My stuff is very important to me, but you shouldnít expect a firefighter to come save your stuff. They want to go home to their family. Our idea is that everyone goes home.îChamplin said the final assessment report is scheduled to be released Sept. 30. Worley said the PPWPP Assessment Team will post the report on their website at http://ppwpp.org.
