Dear Editor,

The lack of action on the Big Springs egress route puts residents at risk. It may not be this year or next, but Nederland will eventually experience a devastating fire like those we’ve seen in Paradise, Marshall, Lahaina, and most recently, Spokane. Previous work by local officials, Nederland Fire Protection District, contractors, and many others is appreciated. But after roughly two decades, Big Springs residents still have no secondary way out. The consequences of continued inaction will one day be measured in lives.

Given the extreme fire conditions that are becoming more common, perhaps Mayor Sterling and the Board of Trustees should be more concerned about life safety than purchasing a ski resort.

I am a wildfire scientist who specifically studies fire speed, but it doesn’t take a PhD to understand that Nederland is particularly vulnerable to a fast-moving fire. Popular recreation areas, including West Magnolia, which had nearly a dozen illegal campfires this summer, lie just west of town. If an ignition there coincides with the strong downslope winds we regularly experience, a fire will spread rapidly and directly toward Nederland.

Over the last two decades, fires have grown 250% faster across the western U.S. These “fast fires” make up less than 3% of fire events but account for 78% of structures destroyed (Balch et al. 2024, Science). They can overwhelm suppression efforts, shifting firefighters from structure protection to life safety and evacuation. Under extreme weather conditions, which we see more frequently these days, residents will have very limited time to evacuate. We saw this here in Boulder County during the Marshall Fire. Under extreme conditions, firefighting resources cannot necessarily stop a rapidly advancing fire before it reaches a community. People must be able to get out.

Currently, approximately 200 Big Springs residents would evacuate via Big Springs Drive and Peakview Road, two routes that exit within a half-mile of each other, to the west where a fire is most likely to be coming from. Residents would then join the rest of Nederland’s evacuation traffic, much of it funneling through the roundabout that already backs up on summer weekends. With one bridge over Middle Boulder Creek, Nederland is woefully unprepared for a rapid, community-wide evacuation.

Long-term wildfire risk reduction requires prescribed fire, beneficial low- and moderate-severity fire, strategic forest management, and defensible space. But those efforts will take years with more community buy-in and a significant cultural shift in the way we think about fire, and even well-treated landscapes cannot eliminate risk under extreme conditions.

A safe and effective secondary egress route is the most direct action we can take to protect lives. I am not arguing for any particular route. A western egress may prove most feasible given private property constraints, while a Boulder Canyon connection will provide greater evacuation benefits.

What is no longer acceptable is another decade of discussion without a solution. We need a feasible route selected, the remaining barriers clearly identified, and a concrete plan and timeline for overcoming them. If there are obstacles involving private property, funding, permitting, or something else, tell the community what they are and what it will take to resolve them.

Efforts to install warning sirens are commendable. Please take the next step by ensuring those who hear them can get out. Until then, my wife will continue scouring Facebook Marketplace for a canoe that can fit the two of us, our dog, and our go bag because right now, that feels like our best second evacuation route.

Matt Bitters

Nederland

Disclosure: I am also a new volunteer firefighter with the Nederland Fire Protection District. The views expressed here are my own and do not represent the District.