Wildfire Wednesdays by CSU Extension Oct 7-28, 6-7:30pm

Don't miss the FREE Virtual Speaker Series called Wildfire Wednesday every Wednesday in October from 6:00-7:30pm brought to you by Colorado State University Extension. Register here: zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0qduytqzItHdYYcQJSTgF5_Kp9eIzXQowv

October 7: Fire Ecology & Behavior Presented by Tony Cheng PhD, Professor, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University and Director, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute

October 14: Defensible Space & Home Hardening Presented by Daniel Beveridge, Wildfire Mitigation Program Specialist, Colorado State Forest Service

October 21: Fire Resistant Landscaping Presented by Irene Shonle PhD, Horticulture Associate, Colorado State University Extension – El Paso County

October 28: Evacuation Preparedness and Animal Evacuation Presented by Ragan Adams DVM, Coordinator, Veterinary Extension Specialist Group College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University
Sharon Bokan, Small Acreage Coordinator, Colorado State University Extension – Boulder County

Fire ecology is the study of the interaction between ecosystems and the wildfires that occur naturally within them. Wildfires are common in various ecosystems and can be necessary for plant developmental processes. Fire ecology also studies the effect of anthropogenic change and management on the incidence and effects of wildfires.

Did you know that there is an Association of Fire Ecology, a scientific journal dedicated to Fire Ecology, and that you can get degrees and/or certifications in fire sciences?

Register for tonight's presentation to learn more about this fascinating topic! We'll be hearing from Dr. Tony Cheng, professor, Department of Forest & Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University, and Director of the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute.
Staff Profile: Tony Cheng

Colorado State University Extension has put together an invaluable online series in October called Wildfire Wednesday. This week, you'll learn about Defensible Space and Home Hardening from Daniel Beveridge of Colorado State Forest Service. Register for FREE: zoom.us/.../tJ0qduytqzItHdYYcQJSTgF5_Kp9eIzXQowv

Here is the Colorado State University Extension's presentation by Dr. Tony Cheng last week if you weren't able to attend. There were over 165 people on the call, we'd love to have even more tomorrow night! Register at bit.ly/WildfireWed

We have the video of the CSU Extension, Jefferson County Wildfire Wednesday presentation on Defensible Space and Home Hardening by Daniel Beveridge of Colorado State Forest Service! Please send this to anyone you know who is looking for some simple ways to make your home more fire resistant. It can be as easy as installing metal flashing around the bottom of wood deck posts, cleaning out your gutters and roof tops of pine needles and leaves, putting rock instead of wood mulch up against your home, and so many more tips and tricks.

In this upcoming Colorado State University Extension - Jefferson County Wildfire Wednesday presentation, we will be learning about Fire Resistant Landscaping from Dr. Irene Shonle, Horticulture Associate, Colorado State University Extension – El Paso County. Pleas register at bit.ly/WildfireWed to join us!

Why is landscaping important? Watch this video to see!

Thank you for your participation in the CSU Extension – Wildfire Wednesday Speaker Series. Here is Week 3’s recorded presentation:

The last in the series is scheduled for tomorrow night and it's such a timely presentation.

If you have any animals or livestock and you need to know how to evacuate them in case of a wildfire, don't miss this important webinar - October 28th from 6-7:30pm.

Experts from CSU and CSU Extension will provide guidance on Evacuation Preparedness and Animal Evacuation. This presentation features Dr. Ragan Adams, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University and Sharon Bokan, Colorado State University Extension.

Registration is FREE -- bit.ly/WildfireWed

Join us this evening for this presentation that benefits us all - Evacuation Preparedness by Sharon Bokan, Colorado State University Extension!

Register at bit.ly/WildfireWed

The video of the last Wildfire Wednesday presentation on Evacuation Preparedness & Animal Evacuation is available! Our tremendous thanks to the CSU Extension, Jefferson County for organizing this, and to last night's presenters Sharon Bokan of CSU Extension Boulder and Ragan Adams DVM, Coordinator, Veterinary Extension Specialist Group College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University. The information they provided was invaluable and we are thankful to have this recorded for posterity!

Please pass this along to anyone you know who could use this information to help keep their homes and animals more safe from wildfire events. Thank you!


You can find all of the videos on CSU Jeffco Extension's YouTube Channel, Subscribe for notifications of future postings.

We at Rotary Wildfire Ready are working to organize monthly presentations on various topics that pertain to wildfire readiness and preparation by our area experts. If there's a subject you'd like to learn more about, please let us know! Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We've been so fortunate to have received so much rain late spring/early summer, but that reprieve means it's the perfect opportunity to work on reducing our wildfire risk around our homes and preparing with our families for the possibility of evacuations. If we have a large fire in our area, it's going to be on us to save ourselves - there simply aren't enough first responders to assist the sheer number of residents needing to leave while also fighting the wildfire.

Residents must get serious about preparing for wildfire in the foothills as local, state and national agencies begin to put more resources and effort toward minimizing risks.

“As residents, it’s our responsibility to learn how to adapt to living with wildfire risk,” Cindy Latham, chair of the foothills’ Rotary Wildfire Ready program, said at a virtual town hall meeting on wildfire preparedness on May 15. “There are all sorts of things we can do to get ready.”

The town hall, sponsored by Jeffco Commissioners Lesley Dahlkemper and Andy Kerr, State Sen. Tammy Story, D-Conifer, and state Rep. Lisa Cutter, D-South Jeffco, focused on what property owners can do to help mitigate the risks and what government can do to help encourage others to begin the daunting task of mitigation in the Wildland-Urban Interface.

Wildfire mitigation begins at home
By Deb Hurley Brobst, Douglas County Press, May 2021