John Scarffe, Gilpin County. About 32 Gilpin County residents signed up to help with fire mitigation off La Chula Road and South Beaver Creek Road for the first Saws and Slaws event in Gilpin County on Saturday, August 17, 2019. Coordinator Julia Shaw said they have been mentored by the Coal Creek Saws and Slaws.

Saws and Slaws events occur regularly in Boulder County and Nederland. Events start at 8 a.m. with volunteers, and they cut down trees, chop them up and then chip the leftovers. 

They have a good strategy in which they form a line and pass the wood up the hill, so no one has to walk up and down the hill.

Shaw said she has been working with Human Services and identified nine families in the area who need the wood, so they will take the wood to a home on Highway 119 for it to be picked up. Shaw said they must have certified members, and only six are available in the area, so Jody and Drew volunteered.

Owners Chris and Pat McMillan said the volunteers have worked very hard today, and they don’t even know us. “Many hands make light work.” Linda Martin has been the guru.

The McMillans have owned their home for more than 33 years. They marked more than 72 trees, and most of them were cut down that day. “We’re delighted,” they said.

After the hard work, the volunteers got the slaws of the day with a good lunch, and as Shaw said, they were all ready for a cold beer.

To volunteer, contact Julia at 303-642-0243 or email: julieinthemts@gmail.com

(Originally published in the August 22, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)