LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The apocalyptic scenes coming out of Los Angeles — orange skies and communities reduced to hellscapes of rubble — bring back painful memories for Coloradans.
“[The] Marshall Fire was certainly very similar,” recalled Mike Worcester, West Metro Fire’s newest wildland support specialist.
Worcester was there when the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in Boulder County.
“When one house catches fire, and it catches the next house on fire, and then it catches the next house on fire, the only thing we can do is wait until the conditions change,” he said.
That's the big danger with protecting the wildland-urban interface (WUI), something firefighters on the Front Range are trained for.
“The wildland-urban interface is this space in between where homes and businesses are starting to grow out into the more forested wilderness areas. And this wildland-urban interface causes firefighters problems because we have values at risk that are in need of protection,” Worcester explained.
- Denver7 breaks down why wildfires become more dangerous when buildings are involved in the video player below
Mountains and grasslands may burn differently, but Worcester said they both pose equal risks to folks living nearby. That danger then increases once structures are involved.
“It's hot. There's a lot of sustained heat in that. And then when you put another one just like it next door, even within, you know, 30 feet or 100 feet, or 50 feet, or whatever, then it's just that extraordinary heat, whereas a grass fire typically burns with the lower intensity,” he said.
You might recall one of the main concerns during the Quarry Fire last August was keeping the flames away from homes.
According to Worcester, hundreds if not thousands of firefighters are out at a wildfire, depending on the size of the incident. They'll be spread out over a greater distance, meaning resources are stretched thin if and when those structures start burning, making it harder for them to tackle a burning building. That’s when wildfires can quickly get out of control.
There might be snow on the ground and a low fire risk today, but Worcester said that doesn’t mean Colorado residents are totally in the clear of fire danger.
"There's just not a fire season in Colorado anymore. It can happen at any time,” he said.
Wildfire
Burned Out: The reality of year-round wildfires in Colorado | A Denver7 special
The Colorado State Forest Service’s Wildfire Risk Viewer map shows urban wildfire risks throughout the state.
Though more of the mountain communities are highlighted in red, meaning higher intensity, Worcester said "all along the Front Range, you see the same possibility there."
The devastation in LA is a reminder of why staying fire-aware at all times is so important.
“Mitigation tactics are important for each individual homeowner. Being ready to evacuate when the order is given. Those evacuations aren't taken lightly, and we do want people to evacuate so that they're safe and that firefighters can be safer operating in the area knowing they don't have a life safety priority, but can work solely on that property conservation,” said Worcester.
To view your property's risks in the wildland-urban interface, click here.
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