Background

CSFS Wildland Urban Interface Fuels Reduction Program

Under the CSFS Wildland Urban Interface Fuels Reduction Program some private homeowners have been incentivized to take action to mitigate their risks. This is a 50/50 match cost-share program. The purpose is to provide incentives for homeowners to create defensible space. 22 grants were submitted for a total of $142,000 in 2002. Three of those grants were funded for a total of $54,700 for all five southwest counties. In 2003 CSFS received applications totaling $459,000. As of March 2003, they had not been able to fund any of these requests so far because of the budget holdups in Washington, DC. Out of this $459,000, 18 subdivisions requested $439,000 and 18 individuals requested $42,000. The projects funded target subdivisions at risk. "My preferable way to go is to work with a subdivision and not an individual landowner because we can get a more bang for the buck" says Dan Ochocki, CSFS District Forester. Overall Ochocki downplays the availability of money. He doesn't want to advertise funding for homeowner defensible space work because he doesn't have enough money to take care of everyone. Ochocki has an idea of what subdivisions he wants targeted and he knows where the capacity is. "It makes sense to devote your funding and energy where there are more concentrated blocks of people - hence subdivisions." There are hundreds of requests for homeowner wildfire mitigation inspections. Allen Farnsworth, San Juan Public Lands Center (SJPLC), has helped CSFS do some of the inspections. Farnsworth also helped get CSFS some money through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to do inspections. The landowners submit a plan and it is approved by CSFS. The landowner can get reimbursed for $11.32/hr for their work in their 50/50 match. The main prescription is to remove 40% of ponderosa pine and leave 12-15 inches between the crowns, chip the oak and limb. There is a one-page form for reimbursement. After CSFS signs off it takes 2-4 weeks to get reimbursed.

The cost-share application is advertised in the papers and Ochocki gives the application to subdivisions at high risk that he keeps on record. Ultimately it is up to the homeowners to contact CSFS and get the grant application. Applications are due in September and awards typically are made by January 1. Applications are reviewed by a state committee in Ft. Collins. CSFS is the final evaluator of whether the project meets specification. Once the homeowner has completed the defensible space work, they fill out a form, submit it and it takes between 2-4 weeks to get reimbursed from Ft. Collins.

As of March 2003, the USFS budget was put on hold because of the 2002 fire season expenditures and no monies were released. This holds up progress, because people won't do the work until they know the status of their application.

CSFS keeps a list of contractors to do thinning work on their web site to facilitate homeowners finding contractors. According to Ochocki they do not have enough contractors to meet demand. It costs between $600-1000/acre from "soup to nuts" to thin an acre of land.

Fire Ready

Fire Ready began in 2000 under the ownership of Ryan Borchers. They have quadrupled business since 2001. It costs $500 to $3,000 to treat an acre depending on what the homeowner wants. Fire Ready works with small-acreage property owners, subdivision homeowner associations, and large clients, such as Fort Lewis College and the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to reduce the threat of wildfire risk. Fire Ready treated 412 acres in 2002 for 158 landowners and the right of way for the Silverton Rail Road. Approximately 5% of Borcher's work is for developers, 90% is for private individual landowners. They currently have a backlog of about three weeks work. In the summer they typically have a backlog of two months.

Fire Ready completed fuels reduction work in the Los Ranchitos subdivision prior to the Missionary Ridge fire. The subdivision in LosRanchitos formed a fire prevention committee to take a subdivision wide approach, including tree thinning and evacuation plans under the direction of residents George and Aurora Rose. In early 2002, the subdivision received a 50/-50 CSFS matching grant for $12,000 to help offset some of the costs for thinning. About two-thirds of the property owners participated. Ryan Borchers and his crew worked on the Rose's property, finishing it the day before the Missionary Ridge fire broke out. The fire came through the subdivisions and the defensible space worked. Borchers is extending franchises into Pagosa Springs, Boulder and Telluride. A 12-person crew costs $1,200 a day, depending on what needs to be done. During the Missionary Ridge fire they received 25 calls a day to create defensible space. After the fire was out, many cancelled their plans.