Black Forest homeowners worry of fire risk from 40-acre vacant property filled with dead trees

BLACK FOREST, Colo. (KRDO) - At least 24 people have died after a string of wildfires sparked in the Los Angeles area. The destruction has brought fire danger to the forefront of many Coloradan's minds, including right here in El Paso County.

Homeowners in Black Forest reached out to KRDO13 Investigates about a property that borders theirs, which they say is filled with dozens of acres of dead trees. They're concerned that the property is a perfect source of fuel for a wildfire.

The 42-acre property is located at 9050 Burgess Road, which extends about a mile up the road towards Hardin Road.

That's where Rick Christie and his wife have lived for six years. He can see the Burgess Road property from his back deck. Christie says he's watched over the course of the last two years as the wooded area has become infested with Mountain Pine Beetles, which has caused them to rot and fall over.

That same area seen here on the Colorado State Forest Service's Forest Health map in 2023, as having 41 acres of Mountain Pine Beetle infection.

It now has Christie concerned about the 'tinder box' butting up agains his backyard, which is especially worrisome as Hardin Road residents were met face to face with the Black Forest Fire in 2013.

Christie says he bought the property well after the fire torched through the area, but he was told that the wildfire had spread right up to his back deck, singing parts of it, while leaving behind blackened bark on the trees in his yard, still visible to this day.

Now he wants to know what can be done to make sure this property is taken care of, if at all.

"There's got to be something that we can do, just to relieve the nervousness that we have." he stated, initially pondering whether the county could do something to mitigate the risk.

An El Paso County spokesperson on Tuesday, however, told KRDO13 Investigates that they have no jurisdiction over private properties, adding:

"El Paso County has no enforcement mechanism specifically for the bark beetle, or picking up dead wood off of private property. The Colorado State Forest Service says that the beetle is a native species that will alter forests but not destroy them. They play a part in helping to naturally thin forests out, preventing even greater problems from happening during potential wildfires."

An El Paso County spokesperson did suggest that a complaint could be filed with the County's code enforcement team, to at least put the issue in front of them and see what they could look into.

Meanwhile Black Forest Fire District, which is stationed just over a mile away down the road from the controversial property, tells KRDO13 Investigates they were not specifically aware of the 42-acre parcel and the swath of dead trees on it.

One of their wild-land crew members explained, similarly, that they are not allowed to go onto private property to do mitigation, nor do they have the manpower to send crews to do mitigation for people's property, even if it were permissible.

For Christie, he says he considered taking legal action against the property owner due to what he and several neighbors along Hardin Road alleged has been a reckless spread of the Mountain Pine Beetle from the neglected property, costing them tens of thousands of dollars to remove dozens of dead trees from their yards.

He ultimately decided against it, due to the cost for litigation and the uncertainty he'd be able to definitively prove the neglect of the property.

It's a property that Christie says has remained undeveloped, since he says it was bought five years ago.

The El Paso County Assessor's database shows that the property is owned by "Rabah Holdings LLC", which included a mailing address for a law firm in Colorado Springs.

KRDO13 Investigates called that firm to ask about their client. The firm stated that they were no longer a registered agent with Rabah Holdings LLC as of November 6, 2023, and instead provided an Organization ID# for them through the Colorado Secretary of State. Our search of that ID, turned up empty.

However, an entity with that same name was found in the Wyoming Secretary of State database, which initially filed in 2019, and has a renewal as of January 2, 2025. The mailing address for the LLC was to a P.O Box in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. They were most recently registered with a Personal Injury firm in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

KRDO13 Investigates is still working to get in touch with the firm Tuesday night, as well as an email for a name attached to the 2025 renewal form for the LLC.