Snow Might Have Saved Homes In Fourmile Burn Area
GOLD HILL, Colo. (CBS4) - Homeowners in the foothills west of Denver are breathing a sigh of relief.
The snow that started falling Thursday above the Fourmile Fire burn area was possibly a "home-saver" for many residents. Several inches blanketed the area after what initially had just been rain, causing emergency officials to call off a flash flood watch.
Officials with the Boulder Office of Emergency Management knew all too well what could have happened if rainfall would have continued in the area throughout the day on Thursday. As they began water level monitoring operations at a command center homeowners armed their homes with piles of sandbags as a precaution.
In the months since the Fourmile Fire in September there has been work to lower the flood risk, but the danger will exist until vegetation in the burn area has a chance to fully grow back.
There was also a concern about lose rocks and debris getting washed out.
Fourmile Canyon resident Larry Rasmussen's home was destroyed in the fire. Now the foundation for his new home which is being rebuilt on the same site faces the threat of flooding.
"We've heard so much from the county that if we get a heavy rain of even only a half an hour or 45 minutes we're looking at mudslides and flooding," Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said that although he is listening to all the warnings, he added that he has lived on the property for 40 years, even when the hillisde was bare, and he hasn't seen heavy mudlisdes or erosion at near his home.
Gold Hill resident Pam Sherman Pam Sherman lost several acres of land and two buildings on her property in the Fourmile Fire. She told CBS4 she knows the risks of living in the area but she loves her way of life.
"I love it. I don't like the destruction, I don't like the pain that it causes to people, but I love wilderness and that's why I'm here. ... If I wanted something easy, cozy, or not challenging, then I wouldn't live here," she said.
The flood danger in the burn area will continue for about 3 years, according to officials.
