Coal Creek Canyon
Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Neighbors Helping Neighbors Protect Our Homes From Wildfire
Step 1
Step 2
Review Your Resident Action Plan
Step 5
Blue Mountain
Resident Action Plan
Here's an overview of the neighborhood as it relates to Fire Potential and Mitigation Efforts.
The Blue Mountain Plan Unit has an Moderate Relative Risk Rating.
Under extreme fire weather and during a fire:
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23% of the area could experience very high to extreme fire behavior.
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27% of homes are exposed to radiant heat from burning vegetation.
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100% of homes are exposed to embers from burning vegetation.
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25% of the roads (3.7 miles) have potentially non-survivable conditions.
County:
The entire plan unit is in Jefferson County.
Vegetation, topography, and potential fire behavior:
The Blue Mountain plan unit has a diversity of vegetation types. Open meadows dominate the valley bottoms, ponderosa pine savannahs exist at mid-elevations, and dense mixed conifer stands at high elevations create the potential for some extreme fire behavior. The topography is complex, with many steep slopes, narrow valleys, and ridges that could create unpredictable fire behavior.
Hazards in the home ignition zone:
Less than half the homes in Blue Mountain are built with ignition-resistant materials such as stucco, stone, or brick siding. Over half of homes have a non-combustible barrier installed within the first 5 feet of the home made of gravel or other non-combustible landscaping materials. Moving further away from the home, mitigation is inadequate. Homeowners should remove some trees within 30 ft of the home to create 10-12 ft of space between canopies, prune tree limbs to 6-10 feet above ground level, mow grasses, and move additional hazards including wood piles and propane tanks at least 30 ft away from the home. The main threat to homes in this plan unit is embers landing within 30 ft of the home or other structures and igniting them.
Roadway accessibility and evacuation capacity:
Roads in the Blue Mountain plan unit are accessible for firefighters and can accommodate two-way traffic. However, there is only one primary egress route for community members in this plan unit, which limits the ability of residents to evacuate quickly during an emergency. There is a railroad crossing in this plan unit, which has the potential to delay evacuation times and trap residents in case of an emergency. Some residents in this plan unit have livestock, which could further slow down evacuation time.
Post-fire flooding and sediment delivery potential:
The southwest edge of the plan unit is at high risk of post- fire sediment delivery, as well as a small portion of the northwest edge. Some homes are within this area of elevated risk, as well as two sites of Blue Mountain Water District infrastructure.
Fire suppression considerations:
Fire hydrants are available near practically all homes in this plan unit. Many homes do not have visible and reflective address signs, which makes it difficult for firefighters to find them in smokey wildfire conditions. There are overhead powerlines throughout the plan unit. Downed powerlines can be an ignition source and hazard to firefighters and residents.
Your Ambassadors are
Cork Rech & Emily Coffman
Ambassadors are volunteer liaisons to members in their own Plan Unit to help them learn about programs available to them. Ambassadors provide information, community resources and help organize community mitigation projects to reduce wildfire risk around homes and in neighborhoods.
Contact Cork
Click To Enlarge Map
Click To Enlarge Map
Recommendations for Residents of Blue Mountain
1. Join, support, and participate in activities with the Blue Mountain Forest Stewardship Initiative (BMFSI).
2. Prepare your home for wildfire. Home ignition zone (HIZ) mitigation in zones 2 and 3 is the highest priority in this plan unit, since more than half of the homeowners have mitigated zone 1 and hardened their homes. It is recommended that every homeowner in this plan unit gets an HIZ assessment from BMFSI to identify specific mitigation actions that need to be taken, as actions will vary among homes.
3. Move hazards such as wood piles, propane tanks, and old wooden sheds at least 30 ft away from homes and structures.
4. Develop an evacuation plan for your family, sign up for emergency notifications from Jefferson County (and consider signing up for Boulder County emergency notifications too), and coordinate with neighbors who might need additional support during evacuations.
5. Install visible, reflective address signs near driveways. Address signs can be purchased from CCCFPD. Contact your county for installation of reflective street signs.
6. Remove trees, shrubs and tall grasses along private roads and driveways to improve evacuation safety and firefighter access during a wildfire.
7. Contact your HOA, BMFSI, or the county to remove vegetation along shared roads in the community. Work with individual landowners to install a shaded fuelbreak along the section of Eastridge Road identified as non-survivable.
8. Work with CCCFPD and Jefferson County to identify a feasible secondary egress route out of the plan unit. There is currently only one primary egress route along Blue Mountain Dr.
9. Support the Blue Mountain Water District in completing the Blue Mountain Water District Infrastructure Protection project. Support BMFSI and the USFS in working on the Central Corridor Rail Line Ignition Reduction project. Support CDOT and partners for the Highway 72 Roadside Fuel Reduction project.
10. Work with neighbors to create linked defensible space. Projects that span multiple properties are more effective at reducing wildfire risk. Contractor costs can sometimes be shared among homeowners, reducing the cost for everyone involved. On average, residents in Blue Mountain should expect to work with 1-2 neighbors to ensure their HIZ is mitigated.
11. Monitor and maintain the two strategic fuelbreaks in Blue Mountain.
12. Advocate for county support from Jefferson County to implement a program like Wildfire Partners and host a slash sort yard or more collection events located in the fire district.
13. Homes in the southern part of Blue Mountain could be exposed to damaging post-fire flooding and sediment delivery. Homeowners are encouraged to take proactive measures to prepare, including
(1) working with your insurance agent to determine your need for flood insurance and/or an earth movement, earthquake, and landslide rider to your homeowner’s policy,
(2) elevating and anchoring electrical panels, propane tanks, wiring, appliance, and heating systems,
(3) securing important documents in waterproof deposit boxes,
(4) ensuring sump pumps are working and have battery- operated backup power sources,
(5) installing professionally engineered terraces or slope drains that could protect your home but without altering drainage patterns that could worsen conditions for your neighbors, and
(6) consulting with a qualified forester to discuss pre-fire fuel treatments to limit sediment delivery damages from burn scars. Reducing fuel loading in areas of concern can reduce wildfire severity, decrease the likelihood that hydrophobic soils (soils that repel water) form, and reduce the loss of roots, vegetation, and plant litter that hold soil in place. Reduced fire severity can therefore reduce the potential for flooding and sediment transport in some cases. Visit the storymap “A dangerous path” from the Boulder Watershed Collective for more information on preparing for debris flows.