Colorado Springs Fire Department receives grant to help with wildfire mitigation

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Thanks to a $30,000 grant from the Allstate Foundation, 60 homes located in different areas across Colorado Springs will all receive wildfire mitigation.

Adam Wisely, Fire Technician for Wildfire Mitigation with the Colorado Springs Fire Department, said, “So it’s a dollar for dollar match up to $500 so that’s why we say it’s 60 homes. And that will cover mitigation work done within that first 30 feet from the structure outward.”

Wildfire mitigation work consists of the removal of dead and volatile fuels as well as the thinning of existing fuels within 30 feet of the home. Living in such a dry climate this work is extremely important.

“We are just looking to clean up those hazardous fuels that maybe close to the house. That’s going to be your evergreens, your junipers, your pine trees that are within that 30 feet. Trying to get those cleaned up and removed,” said Wisely.

So, if not one of the 60, when should you take the time to mitigate your home? Wisely says to do it whenever you can.

“Like you guys all saw, we had that big fire at the end of November that woke a lot of people up to be prepared for that. It’s a year-round thing that we are wanting homeowners to look at and create that space around their homes.”

If you live in the Friendship/Crescent, Kissing Camels, La Posada, Mesa, and Panorama neighborhoods, you can contact the wildfire mitigation section at 719-385-7368 to see if your home can be one of the 60 mitigated.

“Reach out to our office. We can set up a time for myself or somebody from our office to come out,” said Wisely.