STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Steamboat Springs city officials are asking landowners with bark beetle-infested trees to remove the dead trees.
City employees are mailing notices to property owners and, in some cases, hand-delivering letters. People will have 15 days to remove the trees.
The city says the trees are a fire hazard and could infect other trees. Business is booming for companies that treat and cut trees. The city says it will give people more time to remove trees if they notify the parks and open space department.
One Steamboat Springs company says it’s booking jobs three to four weeks out.
Bark beetles have killed about 1.5 million acres of Colorado’s lodgepole pines. Drought and the lack of frigid weather that would kill the insects are believed to be contributing to the epidemic.
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Information from: Steamboat Pilot & Today ,
