Will one more teachable moment enable us to learn?
The Fourmile Canyon and Reservoir Road fires destroyed a record number of homes and buildings. Sadly, every year in fire season, we revisit the perennial issues of putting resources, lives and money into fighting fires to protect our forests and property. As we build near the forest and live in the wildland urban interface, our conflict with nature’s regeneration tool, fire, has heightened to costly measures.
We’ve all got to learn to do better and we can start by being proactive. As stewards of the land, we need to increase efforts that reduce the risks of large-scale fires. Fire mitigation stands as our best lesson as to how we can manage and prevent catastrophes.
We’ve got to build defensively. Using fire-retardant materials and creating defensible spaces, clearing trees and hazardous fuels protect property.
Fire is a matter of “when,” not “if.” We must put our resources into building healthy forests that leverage fire, instead of being devastated by it. The stakes are too high not to do so.
Rick Cables is regional forester with the U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region.
