Wildfire Mitigation Techniques: Forest Restoration

Improve the health of your forested land while reducing the risk of wildfire.

By Tracy Dahl
Published on February 15, 2021
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by Tracy Dahl

What is forest restoration? Improve the health of your forested land using wildfire mitigation techniques to restore a healthy, balanced state while reducing the risk of wildfire.

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By the time we were placed on pre-evacuation notice, we could already see the pyrocumulus clouds rising higher than 30,000 feet. Although they looked a little like rain clouds, no precipitation was forthcoming. The hot, dry weather and incessant winds were driving the Spring Creek Fire east, turning overgrown forests into a seemingly unstoppable inferno — bearing down on our homestead. The fire was still miles away, but it looked like it was nearly upon us. We began packing our essential and irreplaceable items, ready to flee for our lives.

Fortunately, the fire never reached our homestead. Ultimately, the Spring Creek Fire consumed more than 108,000 acres, making it the third-largest wildfire in Colorado’s recorded history at that time. Two years later, it’s the state’s fifth largest. If we had evacuated, we wouldn’t be leaving our homestead entirely to fate. We were in the third phase of a forest restoration project. Would our land have survived the Spring Creek Fire? Hard to say. That fire was extreme; the conditions were perfect for catastrophic spread. But now that our restoration project is completed, I can say with some certainty that our forest could not only survive, but likely thrive, through the more “normal” low-to-medium-intensity wildfires we see in our area.

What Is Forest Restoration?

Forest restoration is returning a neglected forest to a balanced, healthy state. Landowners have several compelling reasons to embark on a forest restoration project. For us, wildfire mitigation topped the list. Wildfires are a global problem, but with necessarily local solutions. You can improve your forest and realize tangible benefits — even if wildfire never threatens.

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