Colorado State Grant Monies Awarded
February 27, 2010 – Announcements, Fire Protection
The Fire Committee has received preliminary approval for its application to the Colorado District Forester for assistance in implementing provisions in the Alamosa County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). State Forester, Jeff Burns, indicated to the Committee that he would be able to award the ZHA between $8,500 and $10,000 of 50-50 matched dollars this year. These monies will be used to begin the creation of a Fuel Break along a section of Lake of the Falls Parkway beginning just below Hampton and up to Navajo.
Lake of the Falls Parkway is a designated Evacuation Route for the Zapata Subdivision in the CWPP. The Plan calls for creating a Fuel Break along Lake of the Falls Parkway from the entrance to the Upper Lake. In addition to making it safer for Emergency Fire and Rescue vehicles to travel along Lake of the Falls in the event of a large wildfire, the mitigation work to be done will also create a defensible line that dissects the subdivision so that firefighters can make a stand against an advancing fire.
Thinning, pruning and ground fuels removal, as documented in guidelines published by the State Forestry Department, has begun on the project so homeowners are urged to be careful driving on Lake of the Falls as heavy equipment traffic and piles of brush will be present until this phase of work is completed. Mitigation efforts will be applied to the full 110 foot roadway easement following suggestions made to the Fire Committee by Jeff Burns the State Forester.
This project is an essential part of the ZHA Board's goals of reducing the risks of a catastrophic wildfire event. Additional efforts are planned to add and improve the supply of water available to firefighters and to build a Fire Station on the Zapata to house equipment and materials needed to fight structure and wildfires. Key components for property owners in reducing their risks to fire and thus the cost of Homeowners Insurance are being within five miles of a Fire Station, an adequate water supply, continuing efforts to Fire Mitigate Common Property, and efforts by individual property owners to Fire Mitigate their property and the creation of Defensible Space around and/or Fireproofing of structures.
There are also 100% Grant Funding opportunities through Stevens Grants available from the Federal Government for properties that border Federal lands. The Committee will aggressively pursue these grant opportunities to mitigate the borders of the subdivision as it is almost entirely bounded by Federal lands. This type of effort would help in the event of a large fire that starts outside the subdivision, hindering its encroaching on ZHA property.
The State of Colorado is able to assist individual homeowners in protecting their structures and lands. 50-50 matching grants are available to homeowners through the Colorado State District Forester for the costs of creating a Defensible Space or Fireproofing Structures. Expenses and in kind labor on your project will be matched at a rate of $20.25 per hour. Contact Joe Funk, Chairman of the Physical Improvements Committee for assistance in removing ground fuels and tree branches to the burn pile.
Mr. Burns noted that, dollars are scarce because of budget limitations, so preferences are given to projects that protect lives and personal property so that it is more likely to be approved for creating a defensible space around a home versus mitigation on a vacant lot.
Information regarding these programs for individual homeowners can be obtained from:
Jeff Burns
District Forester
Colorado State Forest Service
129A Santa Fe
PO Box 1137
Alamosa, Co 81101
719 587 0915
719 587 0916 Fax
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