When the Park County sheriff calls for a mandatory wildfire evacuation there will be some level of chaos. There may be limited visibility due to smoke. There may be flying embers in the air. Hundreds of vehicles may be attempting to evacuate. The call could happen any time of day or night. School buses may be in route. Working parents may be rushing back from Metro Denver to evacuate their family. First responders and firefighting vehicles will be rushing in the opposite direction toward the fire.
In the midst of this chaos, it is absolutely essential that our major evacuation routes not be in flames.
The weakest link in this scenario will be any choke point in our major emergency evacuation routes. Choke points are sections of road that have heavy fuel loads on one or both sides of the roadway that could become blocked by wildfire, trapping evacuees.
Evacuation Chaos during the Lower North Fork Fire
Our mission is to clear these choke points prior to an event to ensure that you and your loved ones are able to evacuate safely.
Fire Adapted Bailey is currently a accepting additional donation/investments in the project via cash or check. You can drop off your tax deductible donation at PCFPD Station 1 at the top of Crow Hill. Make you check out to Fire Adapted Bailey and write Bailey Wildfires in the memo line. Fire Adapted Bailey is IRS recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit.
The Plan - What STEPS Will We Take to Achieve this Mission
What's Already Been Done. The Foundation.
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Platte Canyon Fire Protection District (PCFPD) and Park County that allows Platte Fire to perform wildfire mitigation in county road rights-of-way. PCFPD was chosen to perform the work because they have the skill sets, wildfire knowhow, and equipment to properly and safely fire mitigate our roadways.
- Identification of major emergency evacuation routes. These are the routes that serve both a large number of residents and that will be needed to accommodate a high volume of evacuation vehicle traffic.
- We have already raised over $51K via Phase One of a Crowdfunding campaign and work will start in June 2019 on CR43 between Buggy Whip Drive and Tomahawk Ranch. This will pave the way for the safe evacuation of the Deer Creek Elementary School and Tomahawk Ranch Girl Scout Ranch. Additional work with take place on Nova Road as part of larger wildfire mitigation project with Team Rubicon.
Our Major Emergency Evacuation Routes
- CR43 and Shelton Road. This one way in and one way out emergency evacuation route serves over 2,500 residential parcels, Tomahawk Girl Scout Ranch, Deer Creek Elementary, and the Id-Ra-Ha-Je Christian Camp.
- CR72, Rosalie Road, and Roland Valley Drive. These interconnected evacuation routes serve over 1,500 residential parcels and currently have multiple potential choke points. In the case of CR72, these points become regions.
- Mount Evans Blvd, Hidden Valley Blvd, and Nova Road. These emergency evacuation routes serve over 500 residential parcels. Choke points on Mount Evans Blvd could potentially block the evacuation of this entire community.
What Will Happen Next? How Will we Spend this Investment in our Safety?
- We are Crowdfunding this project on our own as a community of concerned homeowners, ranchers, business owners, civic groups, and other stakeholders. Traditional sources of funds for wildfire mitigation (federal and state) specifically exclude roadway mitigation. Think of this $100,000 project as an investment in our collective safety. We are already over half way to our funding goal and will start work in June of 2019.
- IOBY (In Our Back Yard) has served as our Phase One Crowdfunding platform. Your donation/investment will be tax deductible.
- Working with the Sheriff and the School District, Platte Canyon Fire Protection District (PCFPD) has identified twelve roadway segments as our most critical evacuation route choke points. We will be clearing about 60-acres of vegetation along these roadway segments
- PCFPD will prioritize the mitigation of the most critical choke points based on a calculation of life safety.
- Where needed, PCFPD will arrange with adjacent private property owners to mitigate beyond the county right-of-way to increase the margin of safety.
Fire Adapted Bailey is currently a accepting additional donation/investments in the project via cash or check. You can drop off your tax deductible donation at PCFPD Station 1 at the top of Crow Hill. Make you check out to Fire Adapted Bailey and write Bailey Wildfires in the memo line. Fire Adapted Bailey is IRS recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit.
A Huge Thank You to Our Sponsors
About Fire Adapted Bailey
Fire Adapted Bailey is an IRS recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit umbrella organization for Firewise Communities in the Bailey area. We are unpaid volunteers working to educate the public about the risks of a wildfire and what we can do as individual property owners, business owners, subdivisions, and as a broader community to mitigate those risks. As we assess our current level of readiness before, during, and after a major wildfire event; mitigation of our major evacuation roadways is the most critical and urgent priority.
Credits:
Created with an image by Marcus Kauffman - "Jones Fire"