Nederland
NEDERLAND - In The Mountain-Ear’s final coverage of the Nederland and Timberline Fire Protection District’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), the focus is on the many wildfire …
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NEDERLAND - In The Mountain-Ear’s final coverage of the Nederland and Timberline Fire Protection District’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), the focus is on the many wildfire resilience-based programs and initiatives that have been implemented to support the plan.
The CWPP has been in development for two years, in tandem with both Boulder County’s and Gilpin County’s protection plans and includes recommendations, curated from public engagement, for creating a fire-adapted community, safe and effective wildfire response, and resilient landscapes.
Previous coverage of the CWPP detailed the community engagement efforts and the many collaborative partners, including The Town of Nederland, Boulder County, City of Boulder, Colorado and U.S. Forest Services, Nederland and Timberline Fire Protection Districts, Boulder Watershed Collective (BWC), United Power, The Ember Alliance, and Coalitions and Collaborations Inc., who contributed to the drafting of the plan.
On August 20, 2024, representatives of BWC presented to the Nederland Board of Trustees an update on the status of the CWPP, and a synopsis of the recommendations within. The presentation led Trustees, and Town Administrator Jonathan Cain, to recognize the need to mitigate Town-owned roads, and to reach out to CDOT about mitigating the highway.
On September 17, Emergency Services Manager Troy Hendricks provided an update in his staff report regarding the Town’s Emergency Operations Plan, which has been drafted and been submitted for approval. Hendricks described the plan as outlining the “roles, responsibilities, and procedures for responding to major incidents and disasters.”
The Nederland Emergency Management webpage, at https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/Emergency-Management has been updated to provide residents with ease of access to information on creating a personal evacuation plan, packing an emergency kit, and signing up for alerts from Boulder County.
Additionally, the Town has allocated funds to not just draft the Emergency Operations Plan, but also create an educational curriculum for the public on wildfire and emergency preparedness.
Residents should soon see an informative pamphlet in their mail titled “Wildfire and Emergency Preparedness Planning.” The pamphlet details how to identify and prepare for the hazards of wildfire, flood, and severe weather, including invaluable resources for emergency preparedness, wildfire mitigation, smoke readiness, and insurance issues.
The Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) is also working to provide mitigation services to homeowners through Fire Chief Charlie Schmidtmann’s proposal to create a joint Mitigation Authority with the Timberline Fire Protection District (TFPD).
The proposal was discussed by the NFPD during their meeting of the Board of Directors on August 21.
For full coverage of that meeting please read “Tensions Rise During Fire Restrictions” here: https://www.themtnear.com/articles/tensions-rise-during-fire-restrictions/
“We don’t train our volunteers for fire mitigation,” Schmidtmann explained in an interview with The Mountain-Ear. “They are there for the immediate emergency and whatever that looks like, whether it be the broken foot, the house that’s on fire, or the basement that’s flooding. The mitigation stuff really comes to the Fire Marshal and me.”
“We make recommendations to the home owners about what’s required in the code, on what historically or scientifically has been proven to cause a fire or help prevent one or the spread of one.”
The Mitigation Authority proposed by Schmidtmann would support the tenets on which the CWPP was built upon, and would fulfill the NFPD’s goal of ensuring that the recommendations found in the CWPP are actionable.
The Authority’s Board would consist of members from both Districts and would offer mitigation services for a fee. The fee is to cover the cost of the Authority’s insurance and the salaries of the mitigation staff, who would only be paid when deployed.
Schmidtmann also assured the NFPD Board of Directors that the Authority would not stretch the District’s resources too thin, and that mitigation efforts will only be prioritized when the fire risk in the area is low.
“The portion that’s closest to your home is the most impactful,” Fire Marshal Andrew Joslin told The Mountain-Ear. “But there needs to be a community effort of folks thinking about their neighbors and considering the connective fuels.”
Joslin described how a tree may not directly endanger the property owners home, but may encroach onto a neighbor’s property and create a fire danger.
“Think about a flame front coming in towards your home and how you’re going to slow it down by eradicating unnecessary fuels. And of course conflagrations are a thing, and in that scenario building materials are extremely important, especially your roof.”
Joslin also explained the additional measures being taken by himself and other members of the NFPD to help enforce fire restrictions when they are enacted.
According to the Chief’s staff report delivered during the August 21 meeting, more than 11 calls of illegal campfires were responded to that month after Stage 2 Fire Restrictions had been enacted. Firefighters responded with increased patrols of popular camping areas and by posting signs at those locations.
“Within the last 20 years we’ve gone from most of the fires being naturally caused to now about 95% of them being human caused,” Joslin said in his interview with The Mountain-Ear.
“As a community we have a problem and my hope is to create awareness about it. I do intend to do something about it and I do intend to have more of a process in engaging with the general public.”
Joslin, along with Captain Nick Faes and others, circulated information on the fire restrictions to local businesses, as well as requested of them to stop selling firewood.
“I reached out to B&F and Ace hardware when we entered Stage 2 restrictions and they were very receptive to ceasing the selling of firewood, and big props to them for doing that,” Joslin said.
“They do take a hit on their profits and that shows their commitment to the community, and I think that’s really great,” Schmidtmann agreed.
Additionally, Joslin is hoping to receive funds to purchase more educational signage to post throughout the district when fire restrictions are imposed. He also noted that the CWPP process has opened up communications between himself and the Town of Nederland concerning mitigation concerns.
“I brought up a couple areas of concern that are owned by Town because I view those as low hanging fruit, and the Town was very receptive about the problem areas,” Joslin said. “I feel like all this came through during the CWPP program. We’re collectively coming up with ways of ensuring mitigation is happening.”
Nederland’s Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board (PROSAB) has also been working on organizing eager volunteers to mitigate other public assets and Town-owned properties.
On Saturday, September 14, PROSAB Board Member CT Hutt, with assistance from fellow PROSAB members, Town staff, BWC, former organizers of Saws and Slaws, and Wildfire Partners, organized up to 30 volunteers and mitigated a significant portion of Nederland’s newest open space, Moose Meadows.
For full coverage of Hutt’s report on the success of this mitigation effort, please read “Moose Meadows Mitigation a Successful Symphony,” found here: https://www.themtnear.com/articles/moose-meadows-mitigation-a-successful-symphony/
“Some people like to shake their fist and say nothing ever gets done in this town; well, they’re dead wrong and the community really proved that,” Hutt said at PROSAB’s meeting on September 19.
Also during that meeting, it was discussed that there is still more mitigation work to be done at Moose Meadows, as well as on other parcels owned by the Town of Nederland, including the Wingate Property, indicated by Fire Marshal Joslin as a high priority for future mitigation effort.
Nederland’s Parks Department Manager Nicki Dunn informed PROSAB that mitigation projects around NedRINK and the Old Town neighborhood are planned to be funded by grants. Additionally, the Mile High Youth Corps was scheduled to assist in clear-cutting three feet around every fire hydrant in Old Town, and mitigating some of Town’s smaller parcels.
BWC has been assisting with educating Old Town residents on home hardening and wildlife resiliency, worked with PROSAB on building a volunteer program for the Moose Meadows mitigation event, and also collaborated with Hendricks on the creation of the informative “Wildfire and Emergency Preparedness Planning” mailers.
Efforts are continuing to be made by BWC to mitigate a parcel of land known as the Tucker property, which will include community engagement pertaining to the use of the land. BWC will also be focusing on ensuring Nederland’s water infrastructure is protected and capable of meeting the Town’s needs in case of wildfire.
To view the full 263 page CWPP, go to: https://tinyurl.com/CWPP2024.