The 150 Year Debt
(in progress)
Participants in a wildfire training exercise dig line on a hillside, in preparation for a prescribed burn on the site in the future.
Jim and Kerry Galletti, land owners in Vacaville, CA, display a fire-resistant eave vent to be used in the construction of their new home. The 2020 LNU Lightning wildfire complex burned the home that stood on land that the Galletti's now own. Building in an area with designated wildfire risk is becoming more complicated and costly with the added requirements for home hardening.
Keenan Prouty, a Fire Mitigation Specialist, conducts a defensible space inspection with homeowners in Evergreen, CO.
A US Forest Service crew member takes a seat after setting fire to a pile in Frisco, CO on April 19th, 2023. The pile burning served to limit potential fire fuel near the St. Anthony Summit Hospital.
Jess Moore, the Evergreen Fire Wildland Project Coordinator, takes note of fire mitigation work done by homeowners in Evergreen, CO. Engaging with homeowners, and ensuring they feel heard is a large portion of Moore's job.
Paul Cada, of Vail Fire, demonstrates how prescribed fire can create landscape renewal without sterilizing the soil the fire burns over.
A burn pile sits just beyond the private property line of Lisa and Randy Lewis, homeowners in Silverthorne, CO. The neighborhood of Ruby Ranch worked with the US Forest Service and the Summit County Wildfire Council to gain approvals for a unique fuels reduction project in a federally-designated wilderness area.
Afternoon thunderstorms loom in the distance behind a cow pasture in Kootenai County in May 2023. Lightning strikes are the primary driver of naturally-caused wildfires in the Western US.
Lisa Lewis, homeowner in Silverthorne, CO, enjoys the views from her backyard. Lewis is happy to have stacked burn piles in her line of sight, rather than beetle-affected and debris-strewn forest.
Hunter carries his chainsaw to his truck for a gear swap during tree work on private land in Kootenai County, ID in May 2023. Hunter works for Next Generation Logging as a sawyer, helping land owners clear out overgrown forests and create defensible space around structures.
A road sign shares gratitude held for the firefighters that worked to save the small town of Kyburz from burning in the 2021 Caldor Fire in California's Eldorado National Forest. The 2021 fire burned 221,835 acres and triggered the evacuation of South Lake Tahoe.
Paul Cada, Wildland Program Manager at Vail Fire, uses a whiteboard to keep tabs on running projects and to remind himself of themes to carry into day-to-day interactions with citizens.
Forests in Summit County, CO have been severely affected by beetle infestation. Mountain pine beetles cause swaths of trees to die, leaving dry fuel on the forest floor for a potential wildfire to exploit.
The town of Vail, CO straddles a narrow valley, with busy Interstate 70 running through the middle. Vail's main human-caused fire risk is from trucks whose brakes have overheated and can ignite brush near where the truckers pull over on the highway shoulder.
US Forest Service Fuels Planner Kat Gray evaluates a hillside that is being prepared for a prescribed burn in Summit County, CO.
A fallen tree displays markings of beetle infestation. Mountain pine beetles cause swaths of trees to die, leaving dry fuel on the forest floor for a potential wildfire to exploit.
Doug Lesch, of Summit County Fire, leans on his pulaski during a wildfire training exercise in Summit County, CO. Lesch has opted for a tattoo wedding band in order to avoid potentially having a conventional wedding band snag on equipment while working in the field.
Arceuthobium, commonly known as Dwarf Mistletoe, is a parasitic plant that predominantly affects ponderosa and lodgepole pines in the Western US. Forests weakened by drought and a warming climate are more susceptible to parasites and disease.
Kat Gray, US Forest Service fuels planner, inspects a finished forest treatment in Blue River, CO. The US Forest Service works with contractors when they do not have the needed in-house manpower needed to perform forest treatments.
A crew member takes a moment to tighten their laces before getting back to work cutting trees to fit the prescribed treatment plan in Evergreen, CO.
Keenan Prouty, a Fire Mitigation Specialist with Evergreen Fire Rescue, feels the scratch marks left by a bear in an Aspen trunk. Aspens are seen as a relatively fire resilient species, and are encouraged to grow in the Evergreen area.
Recently cut timber lays stacked in rows after a crew worked through the area in Evergreen, CO.
Lisa Lewis stands next to a burn pile that was stacked in the Eagle's Nest wilderness area. In order to mitigate fire risk in a federally-designated wilderness area, Lewis' neighborhood lobbied the US Forest Service and other government agencies to act.
James Estle, Fuels Crew Supervisor for Evergreen Fire Rescue, surveys the work done to cut and pile overcrowded trees in a forest in Evergreen, CO.
A US Forest Service crew constructs a fire line during a pile burn in Frisco, CO on April 19, 2023. The pile burning served to limit potential fire fuel near the St. Anthony Summit Hospital.
Jess Moore, the Evergreen Fire Wildland Project Coordinator, surveys an area covered in dry needles as part of a defensible space inspection. Evergreen Fire utilizes free and voluntary defensible space inspections to teach homeowners how to harden their homes to mitigate fire risk.
Dust from a slash pile chipper obscures the air in Vail, CO. The Vail Fire district works with homeowner associations to chip wooden debris that has become a fire hazard near residences.
Kody Wright, of Next Generation Logging, discusses the fire danger on a lakeside property in Kootenai County, ID in May 2023. Wright is the Director of Business Development and lead inspector for Next Generation Logging, which focuses heavily on reducing overgrown forest on public and private land in Northern Idaho.
Paul Cada, Wildland Program Manager at Vail Fire, surveys 40 acres of land that burned in 2021 as part of a large-scale prescribed fire project in the Booth Creek drainage. Vail Fire is working to reintroduce healthy doses of fire to the land it manages in the town.
Keenan Prouty, a Fire Mitigation Specialist with Evergreen Fire Rescue, conducts a defensible space inspection for a homeowner on an early summer morning.
Hannah Ohlson, a Wildland Specialist for Summit County Fire, prepares to flag trees that have grown within a building's ignition zone in Silverthorne, CO on April 18, 2023. Ohlson has noticed an increased interest in wildfire mitigation efforts by the public in recent years.
A hillside in Vacaville, CA slowly recovers from the 2020 LNU Lightning wildfire complex, 20 months after the burn.
Jess Moore, the Evergreen Fire Wildland Project Coordinator, examines trees that have grown too close to a structure, as part of a defensible space inspection. Evergreen Fire utilizes free and voluntary defensible space inspections to teach homeowners how to harden their homes to mitigate fire risk.
US Forest Service crew leader Dusty Calfee keeps a watchful eye on a pile burn in Frisco, CO on April 19, 2023. The pile burning served to limit potential fire fuel near the St. Anthony Summit Hospital.
A crew member pauses to admire a recently felled tree during a cut day in Evergreen, CO.
A road sign indicates that a neighborhood in Boulder County, CO has organized itself to align with Firewise fire mitigation principles.
Jess Moore, the Evergreen Fire Wildland Project Coordinator, distributes wildfire and home hardening informational pamphlets, as part of a defensible space inspection. Evergreen Fire utilizes free and voluntary defensible space inspections to teach homeowners how to harden their homes to mitigate fire risk.
Kody Wright, of Next Generation Logging, takes in the scene at a completed jobsite in Kootenai County, ID in May 2023. Wright is the Director of Business Development and lead inspector for Next Generation Logging, which focuses heavily on reducing overgrown forest on public and private land in Northern Idaho.
A wildfire danger meter displays 'moderate' on a snowy day, as a reminder that fire has become a year-round hazard in the WUI.
Hannah Ohlson, a Wildland Specialist for Summit County Fire, signs paperwork to signify a group of new townhomes in Silverthorne, CO have been evaluated for their defensible space. All new construction in Summit County, CO must be inspected for proper defensible space.
US Forest Service Fuels Planners walk toward a site planned for a prescribed burn. Three wildfires have ignited in recent years behind a public shooting range, due to the illegal use of incendiary tracer rounds.
A structure fire grows into a wildland fire in Boulder County, CO on December 19, 2022. The fire grew to nearly 20 acres and showed how quickly a structure fire can jump to wildland fuels on windy days.
A crew member stacks recently cut wood during a cut day in Evergreen, CO.
An excavator bucket rests in a neighborhood that was destroyed in the December 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, CO. The Marshall Fire was the most destructive fire in Colorado history and became a stark reminder that fire has become a year-round hazard in the WUI.
Dan Schroder, administrator for the Summit County Wildfire Council, reviews his meeting notes at the Summit County headquarters in Frisco, CO on March 9, 2023. The Summit County Wildfire Council meets regularly to strategize around wildfire mitigation actions.
A US Forest Service crew member moves away from a pile, after setting it ablaze in Frisco, CO on April 19th, 2023. The pile burning served to limit potential fire fuel near the St. Anthony Summit Hospital.
A hillside in Vacaville, CA slowly recovers from the 2020 LNU Lightning wildfire complex, 20 months after the burn.
Austin Stubbs, owner and operator of Next Generation Logging, surveys the land of an in-progress mulching job in Kootenai County, ID in May 2023. Next Generation Logging uses a mulching attachment on a skid steer to remove dead, dying, poorly-formed, diseased, and overcrowded trees and brush.
A newly rebuilt house stands next to an empty lot in a neighborhood that was destroyed in the December 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, CO. The Marshall Fire was the most destructive fire in Colorado history and became a stark reminder that fire has become a year-round hazard in the WUI.
Hannah Ohlson, a Wildland Specialist for Summit County Fire, meets with a contractor for a defensible space inspection in Silverthorne, CO on April 18, 2023. All new construction in Summit County, CO must be inspected for proper defensible space.
Keenan Prouty, Evergreen Fire Rescue's newest Fire Mitigation Specialist, takes a break between defensible space inspections at one of the fire district's stations.
A sawyer carries his saw back to the trucks after a cut day in Evergreen, CO.
Two trees stand marked with blue paint, to indicate they should be removed from a home's ignition zone in Evergreen, CO. Evergreen Fire utilizes free and voluntary defensible space inspections to teach homeowners how to harden their homes to mitigate fire risk.
A fallen tree displays markings of beetle infestation. Mountain pine beetles cause swaths of trees to die, leaving dry fuel on the forest floor for a potential wildfire to exploit.
Kat Gray, US Forest Service fuels planner, stands in front of a newly lit pile in Frisco, CO on April 19, 2023. The pile burning served to limit potential fire fuel near the St. Anthony Summit Hospital.
Jess Moore, the Evergreen Fire Wildland Project Coordinator, distributes wildfire and home hardening informational pamphlets, as part of a defensible space inspection. Evergreen Fire utilizes free and voluntary defensible space inspections to teach homeowners how to harden their homes to mitigate fire risk.
Highway 50 weaves through burned forest near Twin Bridges, CA. The 2021 Caldor Fire burned 221,835 acres in the Eldorado National Forest and triggered the evacuation of South Lake Tahoe.
A tree in Evergreen, CO shows abnormal growth marks as a result of infection by Arceuthobium, commonly known as Dwarf Mistletoe, a parasitic plant. Forests weakened by drought and a warming climate are more susceptible to parasites and disease.
Piles burn as part of a prescribed forest treatment plan in Frisco, CO on April 19, 2023. The pile burning served to limit potential fire fuel near the St. Anthony Summit Hospital.
Jess Moore, the Evergreen Fire Wildland Project Coordinator, pulls over to discuss home hardening with a homeowner in Evergreen, CO.
A crew member finishes the cut on a dead tree in Evergreen, CO.
Hunter fells a tree on private land in Kootenai County, ID in May 2023. Hunter works for Next Generation Logging as a sawyer, helping land owners clear out overgrown forests and create defensible space around structures.
Randy Lewis points to the Ptarmigan Fire burn area across the valley from his neighborhood, Ruby Ranch, in Silverthorne, CO. Lewis and his neighbors lobbied the US Forest Service to mitigate fire risk in a severely beetle-affected area of wilderness that borders Lewis' backyard.
A gas can sits on newly mulched ground in the backyard of a private home. Next Generation Logging uses a mulching attachment on a skid steer to remove dead, dying, poorly-formed, diseased, and overcrowded trees and brush.
James Estle, Fuels Crew Supervisor for Evergreen Fire Rescue, chats with a crew member during a cut day in Evergreen, CO.
A contracted crew recently finished this prescription treatment in a forest in Blue River, CO. The US Forest Service works with contractors when they do not have the needed in-house manpower needed to perform forest treatments.
Participants gather for a morning planning meeting for a wildfire training exercise in Summit County, CO.
Kat Gray, US Forest Service fuels planner, uses digital mapping technology to show a co-worker the boundaries of a treatment plan area.
A sticky geranium sprouts in an area of forest that has been thinned and prepped for a pile burn in Vail, CO.
Jess Moore and Carrie McKenzie, of Evergreen Fire, survey the home ignition zone with a homeowner in Evergreen, CO. Evergreen Fire utilizes free and voluntary defensible space inspections to teach homeowners how to harden their homes to mitigate fire risk.