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Schumacher said the increased temperatures are here to stay and the impact on the atmosphere is real.

“In the mountains and western Colorado, the increasing temperatures puts more stress on vegetation and soil,” he said. “When the air is hotter, it is thirstier for water. The atmosphere then wants to pull the moisture out of the soils and crops. Even if you have a normal amount of precipitation, it does not go as far.”

Along the Front Range, Schumacher said, 2021 has been a good year for snowfall and precipitation, but the effects of 2020 carry over.

In years like 2020, Schumacher said, the exceedingly hot temperatures with a lower-than-average level of snow and rainfall become the perfect setting for wildfi res.

In 2020, an estimated 700,000 acres burned in the state as the Cameron Peak Fire, East Troublesome Fire and the Pine Gulch Fire blazed through Colorado lands.

So far in 2021, the incident information system, InciWeb, estimates more than 25,000 acres have burned in seven different wildfi res reported throughout the state.

Daniel Beveridge, a wildfi re mitigation specialist for the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS), said climate change has created a new reality as offi cials manage state forest lands.

“With it being warmer and drier, it only intensifi es fi res, allowing them to burn faster,” he said. “The most important thing for people using public lands is to follow guidelines set by local jurisdictions. These warnings are not just created on a whim. They are not taken lightly, and they are important.”

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, about 90% of wildfi res are human caused, with the other 10% coming from nature such as lightning strikes. It is important that people take responsibility and realize that an overheated car parked in dry weeds can spark a major fi re, Beveridge said.

Evergreen Fire Rescue Chief Mike Weege said covering more than 120 square miles of land in parts of Jefferson, Park and Clear Creek counties presents a lot of challenges.

Besides climate issues, Weege said the current state of some of the state’s forest lands provides added fuel that allows a wildfi re to get big fast. Dead, dry trees covering the forest fl oor have been a factor over the last few years, he said.

“We have continued to see this unhealthy overgrowth in forests,”

A photo taken by fi refi ghters on the scene of the Cameron Peak Fire near Fort Collins in

2020. COURTESY OF ARVADA FIRE

Thornton Fire Lt. Perry Otero makes notes during his time deployed to Grand Junction to help fi ght the Pine

Gulch Fire in 2020. COURTESY OF PERRY OTERO

SEE FIRES, P3

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South Metro Fire District fi refi ghters, Wes Polk, left, Travis McConnell, Todd Bramer and John Peterson left for a 14-day stint in California. Crews regularly help neighboring states fi ghting major wildfi res throughout the year. COURTESY PHOTO South Metro fi re crews head to California

Wildland fi refi ghters to help as Western states battle worsening blazes

STAFF REPORT

South Metro Fire Rescue crews have gone to California as part of a united effort in fi ghting wildfi res in the Western states.

According to the national Interagency Fire Center (IFC), more than 12,000 fi refi ghters have been deployed throughout the country to fi re nearly 60 large fi res burning, including the Beckwourth Complex in California, which has burned more than 100,000 acres.

Connor Christian, communications specialist for South Metro Fire Rescue, said the wildland team sent to California is based out of Station 20, a newly built fi re station in Highlands Ranch.

“We always have fi refi ghters on a deployment ready list in case wildfi res start in the state of Colorado or in states around the country,” Christian said. “When our department receives an order for wildland resources, we will send a variety of options.”

South Metro serves a large expanse of south Arapahoe and north Douglas counties.

In a Twitter post, fi refi ghters Wes Polk, Travis McConnell, Todd Bramer and John Peterson bid farewell to home, heading to California for 14 days. Christian said when this crew returns, if more help is still needed, South Metro will send out another crew.

Christian said in some cases, crews only get a few hours’ notice to deploy because a fi re is growing out of control. In this case, Christian said the four-man crew got notice overnight that they would be shipping out by morning on July 13.

Christian said a wildland deployment can consist of multiple fi re operations responsibilities, including providing structure protection, digging fi re lines, or serving as a look out for changes in the fi re’s behavior as it reacts to the weather.

Let’s get back to FUN!

Smoke billows from the Elephant Butte Fire the evening it started on July 13, 2020. The fi re forced a portion of the Evergreen community to evacuate. FILE PHOTO BY SHELLY BROBST

FIRES

he said. “Add that to the increased heat we are dealing with, and you have more fi res.” Last year, Weege said, fi re crews fought the Elephant Butte Fire in the middle of a populated area. While the fi re was contained after 54 acres, Weege said it could have been a lot worse. Einar Jensen, South Metro Fire Rescue risk reduction specialist, said the “wildfi re season” label is creating a false sense of security. South Metro Fire provides fi re protection for 300 square miles in parts of Jefferson, South Metro fi re crews head to California Arapahoe and Douglas counties. “It does not matter if it is in the hotter, drier part of the summer or in the winter, if the fuel for the fi re is ready to go, it’s ready to go,” Jensen said. In Castle Rock, Fire Chief Norris Croom said preparedness is not about time of year, but about being ready all the time. That includes coordinating with other fi re departments to create a regional approach for the moment smoke is sighted. In 2020, the Chatridge 2 Fire burned more than 460 acres near Highlands Ranch. Croom said if it for 14 days. Christian said when this were not for the coordinated effort between Castle Rock and South Metro Fire Rescue, more land and homes would have been destroyed. In total, Castle Rock Fire and Rescrews only get a few hours’ notice to cue covers more than 66 square miles of land, including 34 square miles of the incorporated town, and 32 square miles of unincorporated land surrounding the town. Hatlestad said when a report of smoke or fi re sightings comes in, all departments along then entire Front Range are on edge. “Fire sees no political boundaries,” he said. “A wildfi re crosses town and county boundaries in minutes. All fi res start small, but in today’s climate, they can become massive quickly.”

In 2020, the wind, heat and dry air created the perfect environment for the East Toublesome Fire to cover 100,000 acres in less than 24 hours, Hatlestad said.

Weege said Evergreen relies heavily on state assistance if a fi re breaks out in the forest areas. Once a fi re gets into the trees, Weege said it not only spreads quickly, but requires the state’s air assistance to fi ght it from above.

In the more suburban communities, Thornton Fire Lt. Perry Otero said the department does not have a lot of calls for wildfi res, but they believe in a coordinated, cooperative approach for the good of the Front Range.

Otero said Thornton fi re crews are trained to handle wildland fi res and are able to send help to other counties and districts as needed.

A year later, the Elephant Butte burn scar near Evergreen includes many blackened lodgepole pines that still stand tall as skeletal reminders of the forest as it once

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‘We need to talk about where we go from here’

BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Despite a court ruling that freed Bill Cosby years after his sexualassault conviction, a Douglas County resident says progress is being made to help victims come forward and fi nd justice in cases of rape and sexual assault, but more needs to be done.

Heidi Thomas, who has testifi ed in court that Cosby sexually assaulted her in the 1980s, said that when she read a news story announcing he would be released from prison, it was a “punch in the gut.”

“I had no idea this was coming,” said the Castle Rock resident and Littleton native. “It just came out of the blue.”

Cosby was released on July 1 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his 2018 conviction. The actor and comedian had been sentenced to serve three to 10 years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand. On the date of his release, Cosby had served three years.

Before, during and after the trial, Cosby has vehemently denied allegations that he used drugs to sexually assault dozens of women.

In a 6-1 ruling, the Pennsylvania high court ruled that Cosby should not have faced charges after an agreement with a former prosecutor was made in 2005.

In 2015, charges were fi led by District Attorney Kevin Steele, charging Cosby with the sexual assault. During the trial, Steele used statements made by Cosby in a civil deposition the actor made under the assumption he was immune from criminal charges.

Thomas said that in her opinion, Steele was trying to “right a wrong” made by former prosecutors not taking any action. Now, she fears what she sees as the precedent the ruling could set in future cases involving people accused of rape and sexual assault.

According to court records, during the 2018 trial, Thomas was the fi rst to testify against Cosby. With more than 50 women accusing the actor of sexual assault and misconduct, fi ve women were allowed to testify during his trial as “prior bad acts witnesses.”

In her trial testimony, Thomas accused Cosby of assaulting her in 1984 at his ranch when she was 24 years old and an aspriring actress. Thomas testifi ed that she had gone to Cosby’s Pennsylvania home for acting lessons. She testifi ed that after taking a drink of wine, she blacked out and only remembered the next four days in “snapshots,” suspecting the actor drugged her.

Now, Thomas said she does not want to focus on the incident, or on Cosby. Rather, she said it is time to change laws to make sure victims do not face what she, Constand and dozens of others have dealt with in what she called the Cosby “fi asco.”

“I feel strongly that the storyline should no longer be about Mr. C,” she said. “He has been given this spotlight and we need to shut it down. We need to talk about where we go from here.”

Evidence of how Heidi Thomas has used music to heal can be seen throughout her music room at her Castle Rock home.

Heidi Thomas, of Castle Rock, was the fi rst alleged victim to testify in the 2018 Bill

Cosby trial. PHOTOS BY THELMA GRIMES

SEE THOMAS, P20