Palmer Lake reduces wildfire risk Saturday

Experts say a southern Colorado community that has had recent close calls with wildfires is overdue for extensive wildfire mitigation.

It’s why more than 50 volunteers in Palmer Lake took about four hours Saturday to remove dead trees, limbs, branches, weeds and other material that could provide fuel for a wildfire.

The Coalition for the Upper South Platte, town leaders and cadets from the Air Force Academy focused on an area known as The Glen, at the base of Chautauqua Mountain.

Volunteers cleared fuels from evacuation routes to offer residents a faster escape and make it easier for firefighters to travel.

The Glen has homes that are very close to potential fire fuels. It received scares from the 2002 Hayman Fire and the 1988 Berry Fire that is believed to have started from a campfire on Mt. Herman.

Volunteers said Saturday’s project was a good start but much more mitigation is needed.

Doug Wilson has lived in The Glen for 32 years.

“Many new people who know nothing about fires have moved in,” Wilson said. “I even spent $250 to mitigate on my own property, but what good does it do if the person next door or across the street doesn’t?

Wilson said about half of his neighbors need mitigation.

“There’s a lot of bad timber lying around,” he said. “I’m glad to see the project happen.”