Douglass Ranch residents are likely well aware of the potential for wildfire. A number of large Colorado wildfires in recent years has kept the wildfire topic in the news.
A survey is attached to gauge the sentiments of Douglass Ranch residents with respect to a path forward in neighborhood-wide wildfire mitigation. The survey results are intended to help the Firewise committee be responsive to the neighborhood.
A shaded fuel break in our Open Space is planned to protect Douglass Ranch from wildfire coming from the southwest – which is one most likely path of a wildfire as discussed in our 2016 Douglass Ranch Firewise Community Assessment (available on the DR website). Elk Creek Fire Department recommends such a fuel break and will implement phase one of the fuel break at no cost to Douglass Ranch. The cost of extending the fuel break around our remaining southwest border falls on Douglass Ranch. The likelihood of getting grant funds increases with our solid commitment to this effort.
To clarify: The purpose of a shaded fuel break is to reduce the amount of combustible material so that when a fire burns into the fuel break, it will decrease in intensity, drop from the canopy to the ground, and its rate of spread will be slowed.
GlenElk is nearing completion of a shaded fuel break on our southeast side which represents a tremendous boon for Douglass Ranch as we have only homeowner lots facing the southeast – none of which can accommodate a 200 ft wide fuel break.
An emergency egress route, about one half mile in length, is under consideration from Douglass Ranch to GlenElk. Note that "under consideration" means that we are in the very, very early stage of looking at options. The road could be used by either neighborhood and is envisioned to be jointly funded by our two neighborhoods.
Of course a shaded fuel break and an egress route require funding. One purpose of this survey is to gauge neighborhood support for such projects. Remember: We are talking about our homes and our lives. Waiting until the last minute to work on these projects is not a winning proposition.
In this survey, there are no right or wrong answers.
There are 24 questions in the survey – divided into 7 “pages”. Should take about 3-5 minutes to complete.