Earth Improvements, Incorporated :: Article Of The Month

Hey Coloradans,

Given all the recent forest fires in and around your neighborhood or surrounding areas we feel that now is as good a time as any to get pro-active and clean up dead shrubs, trees, and limbs in your own backyard. Not only will this help prevent the spread of fire but it will give firefighters “defensible space” to work in. You can see how vegetation management is key.

If the task seems daunting try starting with just the least healthy trees and plants, especially those often beetle-ridden trees. Bare branches and poor foliage are a sign of disease. Or if you are concerned about cutting for aesthetic, privacy, property value, or biodiversity reasons, keeping the trees and shrubs in many discreet patches can be helpful. This patchy distribution presents less hazard. But don’t forget to mow your grasses!

More good news is that a clearing of a maximum of 100 feet of foliage is plenty. In actuality, clearing anything more creates a “bowling alley” for embers, allowing fire to accumulate around the house and can even ignite your house from fire miles away. So by all means do the clearing but no need to go overboard.

Still too much work? Try hiring a land-clearing company like Earth Improvements who are dedicated to preserving surrounding land are conscientious about topsoil and reforestation. They use low environmental impact equipment, and not only do they do tree cutting but will do stump-removal and stump-grinding as well. They get excellent reviews!

The 2020 wildfires burned more than half a million acres (573,913) and were separately the three largest fires in Colorado’s recent history. Furthermore, due to low snow fall and drier Winter conditions, this March and April are already at above normal fire risk. We must act soon.

As more and more people are leaving the city and moving into prime real estate closer to nature, it becomes crucial that we each do our bit in preventing fire hazards. Again, you might want to investigate land management company like Earth Improvements who specialize in a wide variety of cost-effective services including wildfire and pine beetle mitigation, and wildlife habitat restoration. We must all be responsible because no one wants to lose their home.