Suggestions when living in the woods/forest (Black Forest: homeowners insurance, new home)

[DoodlemomCoS]

Hello to our almost fellow CoS citizens.
So after a lot of exhausted research and trips to check out various properties, we settled on a home in the far north end of town, just inside the wooded area. The area doesn't seem to be called Black Forest (pleasant view) but looking at satellite pictures, it's the same swath of trees as Black Forest and I don't think Mother Nature cares that we are to the left of road/interstate 83. To me we are still in Black Forest as it's the same trees. We are on practically the western edge of it, if you go a few streets over you are no longer in the wooded area.
We are 7 minutes from a grocery store (I timed it) and 15 minutes from an ER (son got stitches last time we were there) so friends that live in the mountains here say we really are not mountain living.

However, being a suburban girl my whole life, I disagree.
I would like to get an idea of things I need to be aware of now that we are living in a wooded area. For instance, I am reading up on fire mitigation and although there is a fire hydrant right next to our house, that probably won't matter. So I'm learning everything I can to protect our house. I'm worried about both arson and wildfires but we felt this house was the right place for our family.
I also know there could be wildlife. What do I do with trash? What about our grill? Etc. we are getting a fence put around our yard but that's mainly to keep our dogs and kids in, not to keep wildlife out because I don't know what will. Also not getting a dog door because I'm worried something other than our dogs will get inside.

We are close to fox run etc. the kids play outside for hours every time we are up there.


I've search but couldn't find this question. Feel free to merge if I missed it. I understand the area we chose isn't right for everyone but so far everyone in here has been helpful so I hope I won't get bashed for our decision.

I've been told by district 20 registration that our neighborhood school is full and our kids have to go to an overflow but next fall our kids will be able to attend the school we bought the house for. I'm not sure how they can say for sure but I hope it's true because that's one big reason for why we bought where we did.

Thanks for any help.
Jenn

[beezle1]

For fire mitigation, you can get really drastic and remove all trees close to the house, or at least keep branches that are close to the house cut back, especially those that overhang the roof. You will likely need to clean your gutters a few times a year as they will probably fill up with pine needles. Some people even rake up the pine needles and bag them for the trash service to pick up.

Trash - most people leave their trash cans in their garage and bring them out only on trash day. Grills - I leave mine out on my deck year round, no critters so far.

[StealthRabbit]

check this out for fire mitigation. Make sure your home has safe and EZ access for Fire apparatus. (or they won't bother to enter your driveway for risk of getting trapped).

Home - Firewise
Ready for Wildfire - Creating Defensible Space
Protect your Home, Property & Forest from Wildfire - Colorado State Forest Service
https://csfs.colostate.edu/wildfire-mitigation/

You can always 'home school' for a season. There is a lot of local support for that.

[dr.frog]

I'm not sure if your new home is within the city limits or not. After the Waldo Canyon fire, the city imposed a tough new fire code on reconstruction within the fire-prone areas; older homes are "grandfathered" and exempt, at least until they burn down. :-P Whether or not these regulations actually apply to your home, their handbook on fire-resistant construction and wildfire mitigation is very useful for anyone who thinks their home might be at risk.

https://csfd.coloradosprings.gov/sit...kms_061714.pdf

[DoodlemomCoS]

Thanks that's very helpful. It seems like most of the trees around are property have had the lower branches trimmed off. I hear mixed things about pine needles to rake them or not. The report says to do it up to 30 feet from the house but ive also heard you don't do it over your entire property because it keeps moisture in the ground.

[Mike from back east]

Don't put mulch around a house, garage, or barn, use rocks, for obvious reasons. Hopefully there's no wooden deck, but rather a concrete or stone patio with concrete steps. Metal fences won't burn like a wood rail fence. Keep grass mowed and keep tree branches trimmed up off the ground about 6-8 feet so any grass fire cannot spread to low lying branches that then spread to the top of the trees at which time you'll have a real serious fire.

Hopefully new homes in fire danger areas will be built using brick or stucco, with metal or real tile roofs. Whole idea of living in a combustible area is to have structures that provide no combustible fuels for a fire.

One of my pet ideas is to have a sprinkler system that is mounted on the exterior of the house along the roof peak and/or under the eaves to go into action when a situation warrants. If there's a swimming pool on site it would provide a lot of water to protect the home.

Won't hurt to talk to your homeowners insurance firm for their guidelines, as I suspect they've tightened up a lot since the two major fires we had.

[Phil P]

I've been in black forest for 22 years. Wildlife is limited to deer and squirrels really. Usually there are a few bears in the drainage ditches, but I haven't seen one in quite some time, like years. Lots of raccoons now. Having fires is pretty much looked down and banned upon unless there's snow. Grilling is fine though.

As far as mitigation, mike nailed a lot of the points. Cleaning your gutters and no mulch around the house and no wood decks are the three big ones. A lot of places in black forest had the house burn and no trees around it, meaning that an ember hit the house and caught some wood on fire underneath a gutter or something. So that's most of the deal with fires.

Regarding trees, these pondeBullBoxer31 really are pretty fire proof, unless it was conditions like it was during the black forest fire. You'll want to clean them regardless of fire or not because they look like crap if they aren't taken care of. They grow too thick naturally and grow spindly and bend and look like dog hair. Use your eye, you don't want to clear cut, but you do want to space them out some, so that they will grow bigger and wider and nicer. Basically a 4 ft radius around the tree is a good rule of thumb. But some are fine closer and some bigger ones will look really sicky that close together.

[otowi]

And before you go cutting a tree down, try to make sure it isn't a Ute Prayer Tree. They're all over Black Forest. Former El Paso County Sheriff talks about soon-to-be released book on Ute prayer trees

[beezle1]

Originally Posted by otowi

And before you go cutting a tree down, try to make sure it isn't a Ute Prayer Tree. They're all over Black Forest. Former El Paso County Sheriff talks about soon-to-be released book on Ute prayer trees

I think I have one on my property.

[TCHP]

Ahh, the conundrum of living in the forest. You are there for the trees and distance between neighbors, but need to clear them out nearby so your home is safe.
No advice to add. Others have covered it well.