TIMBERLINE FIRE MITIGATION TEAM

Timberline Fire Protection District and Fire Chief, Paul Ondr, launched its new fire mitigation program in 2022 with great success. Our team is hard at work mitigating county roadways to make it safer for public evacuation and firefighter ingress. Some of our recent accomplishments are:

Egress work: 

• Highway 46 
• Missouri Lakes 
• Corona Heights 
• Aspen Springs

Chipping events: 

• Missouri Lakes (2022)
• Golden Gates Estates (2023)
• Dory Lakes (2022 & 2024)
• Lakeview (2024)
• Mountain Meadows (2024)
• Wheeler (2024)
• Rollinsville Heights (2024)
• Missouri Lakes 2&3 (2024)

We will continue to focus on reducing the risk of wildland fires by engaging in defensible space work. Gilpin County chose and funded the above projects because of their existing risk. 

Defensible space is the area surrounding your home, improving your chances of surviving a wildfire. Keeping the HIZ (Home Ignition Zone) mitigated is the best way to manage the buffer between a structure and the vegetation that it surrounds. The treated area is important to slow or stop the spread of wildfire. Defensible space also allows firefighters to safely work to protect your structure(s). Wildfire protection and life safety not only include preparing your home for wildfires but also having an emergency plan. Homeowners should create an emergency plan that identifies escape routes out of their neighborhood, “go bag” preparation, and register for emergency notifications at Hyper-Reach Link.

Our team is led by Mitigation Coordinator, Andrew Steffe. Andrew has held a Colorado firefighter certification for the last 10+ years and is certified in S-130/190, FFT2, FAL 2, Hazmat, and Home Assessor (HIZ), as well as being deployed on several wildland fires, including the recent devasting Palisades Fire in Southern California. He has been a resident of Coal Creek since 1999 and has been a member of Saws and Slaws (volunteer mitigation team) since 2011. Andrew has worked on multiple large acreage mitigation projects along the front range over the past 10+ years. “It is vital to protect our homes with proper mitigation and home hardening. This ultimately gives your structure the best chance of survival in a wildland fire. In mitigating, you are shaping the way the fire will interact with your property!”

Timberline district property owners are encouraged to sign for a free home site assessment https://www.timberlinefire.com/mitigtion-wildfire-safety-and-prevention

Once the assessment is complete, homeowners can choose to complete the work themselves, or our team can complete the mitigation project at a discounted rate. “We wanted the program to be affordable and accessible to all residents. Defensible space works best if everyone does their part,” Chief Ondr said.