<\/p>\n
Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service specialists recommend mitigation measures to counter the risk of fire in the Dolores River Basin, including Dolores and West Fork.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve mapped where the landscape will benefit from fire, and where it could be threatened,\u201d said Brad Pietruszka, a BLM fire specialist.<\/p>\n
Pietruszka presented results of a risk assessment during Dolores Watershed and Resilient Forests\u2019 monthly meeting Jan. 4 after using a computer model to simulate wildfires in the basin.<\/p>\n
The model starts fires at random, then lets them play out based on inputs such as forest type, burn probability, landscape, and historical weather and fire data.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout two-thirds of the landscape benefits from fire, and about one-third is threatened by fire,\u201d Pietruszka said.<\/p>\n
The highest risk was assigned to neighborhoods and towns near large forested areas such as Boggy Draw, West Fork, The Glade, Groundhog, Upper Dolores River neighborhoods, and the towns of Dolores and Rico.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point, there could be a very large fire that impacts a lot of private land,\u201d Pietruszka said. \u201cThe study\u2019s conclusion is to mitigate fire hazards on private land as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fire-manager parlance, these areas are known as wildland urban interface (WUI) zones, said Rebecca Samulski, assistant director for Colorado Firewise and a board member of new group Dolores Watershed and Resilient Forests (DWARF).<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of DUI checkpoints, we\u2019re trying to get fire departments to do WUI checkpoints at the entrances of at-risk neighborhoods,\u201d she said. \u201cFire officials could hand out information on wildfire protection measures.\u201d<\/p>\n
The computer model shows power lines through the forest are susceptible to damage from wildfires. The group agreed that the far-reaching value of power lines makes those areas a priority for protection and forest mitigation, such as forest thinning and adequate buffer zones.<\/p>\n
While the model does not include the cause of simulated fires, power lines damaged by falling trees could spark a forest fire.<\/p>\n
A major power line tracks across the forested Boggy Draw area north of Dolores and across the Lower Dolores River.<\/p>\n
\u201cFires can be started by trees falling into power lines,\u201d said David Casey, a forester with the San Juan National Forest, so an adequate buffer zone is essential.<\/p>\n
Sediment loading from fires into the Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir is a concern for the Dolores Water Conservancy District, added general manager Mike Preston.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to identify areas that pose that risk and conduct restoration activities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Samulski said a post-fire sediment and erosion model for the Dolores River Basin will be presented soon.<\/p>\n
At the next DWARF meeting, Jim Worrall, a Forest Service pathologist from Gunnison, will give a presentation on the future of forest health in the face of climate change. The meeting is Feb. 1, at 1:30 p.m. at the Dolores Water Conservancy office, 60 Cactus St. in Cortez.<\/p>\n
To find out more about mitigating wildfire threats near your home or subdivision, check out the Firewise of Southwest Colorado website at www.southwestcoloradofires.org\/, or call (970) 564-7860.<\/p>\n