Hogback Fire a reminder that wildfire happens at any time

Now’s a good time to make evacuation plans, mitigate property

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

It was business as usual in downtown Morrison the morning of April 1 despite the Hogback Fire that was still burning though under control three miles north.

Patrons stopping into Morrison Joe co ee shop Saturday morning were no longer concerned about the re that on March 31 caused pre-evacuation orders of the entire town and subdivisions on the east side of C-470. e re, which burned 44 acres near Interstate 70 between Highway 93 and C-470, was 100% contained as of 2 p.m. April 3.

According to o cials, the Hogback Fire was caused by a power line downed by exceptionally strong winds on March 31. Pre-evacuation orders for Morrison, Solterra and Red Rocks Ranch were lifted later that night.

Larry Kunz of Morrison said he was happy that the re was contained, especially with the winds that some meteorologists said gusted to 70 mph.

Brent Lewis of Morrison said with everything being so dry and the recent winds, he’s worried about outof-towners frequenting the many parks in the area who don’t realize the potential danger one spark can cause.

“ at dead wood just explodes,” he said.

Just this weekend, the Hogback Fire was one of several res in Colorado, including the Bear Fire northwest of Golden that re crews containing to 7.5 acres and authorities believe was human caused.

In addition, re crews continue to battle the 403 Fire that has burned 1,450 acres in Park and Teller counties as of 4 p.m. April 2, and a re broke out in Cimarron Hills east of Colorado Springs on April 2.

“We absolutely have to be vigilant right now,” said Stacee Martin, assistant re chief with Evergreen Fire/Rescue. “ is is that awkward shoulder season where we don’t have green grass, and we have some moisture but not enough. ings are still brown, and that’s what is catching re. is is the time of year we all hold our breath.”

With low humidity and high winds, the danger is even higher.

“If you see a smoke column or active ames, call 911,” she said. “We are happy to check it out.”

Be prepared to leave and create plans for what to take and where to meet your family, and do mitigation now while the weather is getting better and before it’s time to plant, she said.

“ ere is no end to wild re season in Colorado,” Martin said. “It’s yearround. Right now in particular, keep your head on a swivel.”

Hogback Fire

As of April 2, Matthews/Winters Park is still closed, though all roads in the area have reopened as re crews continue to ensure no hotspots are up. e rst calls reporting the re came in around 2:15 p.m. March 31, according to West Metro Fire. Many area re departments sent re ghters and trucks to help including South Metro, Genesee, Foothills, Evergreen, Inter-Canyon, Indian Hills, North Fork, Fairmount and Elk Creek. Aid came from as far as Castle Rock.

Hogback Fire, and Fulton noted how the re season on the Front Range is now year-round.

O cials at about 8:15 p.m. March 31 lifted pre-evacuation orders for the Solterra subdivision, Red Rocks Ranch and the town of Morrison, though the March 31 concert at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre was postponed.

On April 1, Evergreen Fire/Rescue continued to assist West Metro Fire in monitoring the area. e re started on the west side of the hogback close to the main Matthews/Winters Park trailhead but spread onto the east side of the hogback. Helicopters were unable to operate in the windy conditions, and thus could not provide water drops, according to West Metro Fire. explaining how the Bear Fire was Je co’s second notable wild re in two days. e day before, emergency responders tackled the Hogback Fire near Morrison, which was caused by a downed powerline.

As of 6 p.m. March 31, crews on the west side of the hogback were securing the perimeter while their counterparts on the east side were watching for spot res. Eastside crews were also setting up a progressive hose lay to get water up the steep slope to the top of the ridge. ey’re also using saws to cut out vegetation, taking away fuel from the re, West Metro Fire reported.

March 31’s dry, windy conditions made re ghting e orts di cult at the e Front Range has seen several red ag days over the last week, including March 31, April 2 and April 3. Fulton recommended that everyone be extra cautious on red ag days — characterized by dry, windy conditions — saying res like the Hogback Fire and the Bear Fire can spread quickly under those conditions.

On April 1, Colorado State Patrol closes Golden Gate Canyon Road from Highway 93 to Crawford Gulch Road due the Bear Fire. The road was closed for about two hours as emergency crews responded to the scene about three miles northwest of Golden. As of April 3, the Bear Fire was fully contained to 7.5 acres in Golden Gate Canyon.

“We are all getting an education (at school),” Abby said, “but we are taking a lot from the environment. It is important to remember that we need to help the environment, even if just for one year.”

Austin said the community aspect of the project was important to him — “Getting together with the community and helping improve it. I love helping out and doing community service.” e students have gone to businesses, fellow students and everyone they know, asking them to get involved and buy saplings, and they have sold about 150 so far. Now they are hoping the community will help them reach their 750-sapling goal. ey said they chose tree varieties that will grow well in Colorado and should be easy to care for.

“If you don’t have a green thumb, they still have a chance of surviving,” Austin noted.

Tree-Plenish e Tree-Plenish nonpro t was started in 2018 by students at a high school in Massachusetts, who wanted to nd a way to o set the amount of paper the school used in a year. ose students wanted to create a community event, so more people would be aware of ways to be more sustainable, according to Lizzy Elsner, a co-founder and co-director of the nonpro t.

“We have gone from two of us doing a senior project to now when we have about 25 college students running the nonpro t,” Elsner said. “Last year we worked with 300 schools in 40 states. We’ve seen a lot of growth.”

Tree-Plenish has moved from o setting paper usage to carbon footprint.

She said the nonpro t works with tree vendors across the country to get local trees for the events.

“Part of the process is helping research saplings native to the area, which grow best in the temperatures and soil conditions,” she explained. “ ey work through guring out which saplings are best for the area.”

Elsner said while the nonpro t helps the environment, just as importantly, it is working to help high school students learn they can make a di erence.

“High school students learn that they can be empowered to change the world,” Elsner said. “ ere are a lot of issues we learn about and see in the news, the climate crisis being one of the bigger ones. is project is a really good way to make communities more sustainable. is is a great

ADVERTISEMENT opportunity for high school students who don’t always have an opportunity to use their voices or power to take actionable steps to help the planet.”

To purchase trees or donate to the students’ cause, visit jcostrees.org.

A YouTube Playlist Features 42 ‘Top Green Products’ From the International Builders Show

I would have loved to attend the 2023 International Builders Show in Las Vegas to check out the vendors of green products, but I have a job here that already keeps me pretty busy. So I was delighted to receive a link to a YouTube playlist of 42 videos featuring many of the same products that would have interested me.

In those videos Rate It Green host Matt Hoots of Sawhorse Inc. shares his picks for some of the best green building products from IBS. You’ll certainly make some new discoveries, as I did, and appreciate Matt's insights. Many of these products I already knew about and some of them I have mentioned in this column (such as the Rheem heat pump water heater), but I didn't make videos of them. He did. Thank you, Matt!

The videos are a great service, with the shortest ones being under 2 minutes and only one of them being over 10 minutes. Each of them is a short visit to a different IBS 2023 booth, interviewing the attendant about their product. It would have taken me a few days to do the same thing, with most of my time spent walking up and down the aisles looking for products that interested me and blowing off those which didn’t.

The nice thing about a YouTube playlist is that all the videos are listed on the side, and you can skip to the ones that interest you the most or skip to the next video as soon as you’ve seen enough of the one you’re watching.

The link for the YouTube playlist is too long to print here, but you can click

2 Local Entities Cited for Housing Affordability Work

Ivory Innovations has released the names of 24 finalists for the Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability, and two of them are in Denver. The finalists are selected by an advisory board which is composed of the top minds in housing across the U.S. In addition to awarding financial support, Ivory Innovations connects all of its finalists with leading practitioners, capital partners, student interns, and pro bono consulting or capacity-building services.

The two Denver area finalists are: Madelon (MadelonGroup.com) simplifies infill housing development by streamlining and productizing the entire process. They seamlessly integrate each component, including pre-designed housing products that are compatible with industrialized housing manufacturers, into their online REDtech platform. This allows small local developers, non-profit institutions, and even community trusts to get into the driver’s seat and finally leverage new construction technology to identify and build more affordable housing supply at scale.

Launched by Gary Community Ventures in partnership with Denver’s Black community, The Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth (DearfieldFund.com) provides up to $40,000 in down-payment assistance to first-time Black and African American homebuyers to help build generational wealth. The fund aims to close the racial wealth gap and accelerate Black homeownership by generating an average of $100K in net worth for 500-600 Black families, leading to $50-$75M in wealth creation for the Black community in Denver. The fund seeks to build a community of practice and to create a model that other cities could replicate in their own housing markets.