Fire mitigation group works to proactively fight fires and teach safety in Teller County

FLORISSANT, Colo. (KRDO) -- Volunteers with the NoFloCo Fire Mitigation Posse spent their Labor Day in the forest, working to mitigate wildfires and to teach property owners how they can proactively keep their homes safe.

The group works alongside property owners in Northern Florissant Colorado to make sure their land is properly managed and dangerous fire fuels are removed from the forest floor.

On the shirts of volunteers and on the group's website, you can find the tagline "Educate. Elevate. Motivate." Monday, Donald Moore, the man who founded the organization with his wife three years ago, explained why that motto encapsulates the work they do.

Moore said when they moved to the area over 20 years ago, he went to the Colorado Forest Service to see how he could help take care of the land.

"I thought I should be planting trees, you know, be a good steward," said Moore. "And they said, no, you need to create fire without the devastation of fire. And I asked what that was and that was removing fuel from the forest floor. So, after 20-plus years, we saw so much fuel on the fourth floor of other people's private properties that we thought maybe we could start out by just helping them in our community."

Moore has watched the group of volunteers grow from just he and his wife to a group of 386 volunteers, and as their group has grown, they've covered more acres and worked on more properties.

Their work doesn't mean clear-cutting through forests. Instead, they identify and cut down dead trees and clean up brush and fuel from the forest floor.

The diagram below shows their aim when they address properties.

The left side shows how properly mitigated homes should look, and the right side shows how they shouldn't.

The group is always looking for more help. If you'd like to join the organization and help address more properties, you're encouraged to reach out to Donald Moore through the organization's website.