Protecting Colorado Springs Starts Before Fire Arrives

People in Colorado Springs do not need to be reminded that wildfire can change a community for years.

We saw smoke over the foothills, watched neighborhoods evacuate, and waited for word about homes, trails, watersheds and the places that give this region its identity. We also know that fire does not stop being a community issue when the flames are contained.

More than two decades since the Hayman fire and portions of that landscape still tell the story of a fire that burned with such intensity that the forest has struggled to return. The Waldo Canyon Fire saw the loss of life, closure of beloved trails, years of restoration work and the slow-moving sustained disaster of flooding and erosion that followed the fire.

Those places are not simply scars on a map. They are reminders of why the work we do before fire arrives matters.

Together, our firefighters, foresters, ranchers, landowners, utilities, water providers, city and county leaders and neighborhood volunteers work year-round in efforts that rarely make the news. The forest stewardship efforts of these folks reach across agencies, private entities and job titles. Their work helps to create defensible space, care for our watersheds, restore healthier forests and help neighborhoods become safer.

That work deserves more attention.

Colorado Springs is surrounded by the very things that make this region special: foothills, canyons, open space, trails, ranchland and neighborhoods tucked against beautiful natural treasures. Caring for those landscapes is not only important to healthier forests. It is important to protecting water, wildlife, recreation, homes, local businesses, farms and ranches and the sense of place that makes our region home.

While some may disagree about the specifics of certain mitigation work, we all agree that a cared-for landscape is better prepared for fire.

As public officials and wildland firefighters ourselves, we have seen firsthand how partnerships form after fires, and the difference the preparation that results from that partnership can make in protecting what matters to each of us. Whether it’s safer homes, a beloved trail or a special view – by taking action to prepare our forests for fire, we help protect these beloved assets.

Numerous studies consistently demonstrate livestock grazing effectively reduces wildfire risks by targeting areas that immediately reduce fuel loads–such as invasive grasses that contribute to fire intensity–or strategically grazing areas to improve soil conditions by depositing carbon (manure) for less flammable vegetative species.

It is our hope that all Coloradans appreciate the importance of supporting forest stewardship through action before the emergency, not only after it.

As we hope and pray for those impacted by the current fire outbreak, it’s important we consider how we can act. Not only by preparing our homes and neighborhoods for fire, but by understanding the efforts that are needed to prepare our region.

Colorado Springs has dangerous, overgrown areas that have not seen natural fire and are difficult to treat. These places desperately need controlled fires or the use of new technologies to mechanically reduce the risk these unhealthy landscapes pose to private lands that have done the hard work to prepare for fire. Our outlying areas have vital landscapes where federal, state, military, and other partners are managing forests the right way. We need partnership between landowners, agencies, and utilities to ensure that work is maximizing benefits and the dollars invested in it.

Hayman and Waldo Canyon taught us that the effects of high-intensity fire can last long after the smoke is gone.

Let’s honor that lesson by acting with confidence, cooperation and urgency now.

Stan VanderWerf is a retired US Air Force Colonel, former El Paso County Commissioner and candidate for Mayor of Colorado Springs.   Chuck Duray is a retired US Army Lt. Colonel, El Paso County rancher and educator.  Duray served multiple seasons as a wildland firefighter and natural disaster team leader.