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'It's A Team Job': Volunteers Prepare Colorado Lands For Possible Challenging Wildfire Year

BAILEY, Colo. (CBS4) - Colorado is once again headed for a historic drought. That means fire season could be challenging this year. So even though it's only April, it's time to start thinking about fire season in Colorado, especially the folks who live up in the mountains.

That's why Team Rubicon came out to the Tomahawk Ranch Saturday to do a little fire mitigation. The team of 80 veterans, first responders and all around hard-nosed citizens, volunteered to pitch in as much as they can over the weekend.

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"There's 250 acres of fire mitigation that needs to be done here," said Planning Coordinator Megan Kaufman. "We expect to cut down hopefully 10 acres."

They put in a hard day's work at the Girl Scouts Ranch to protect not only the camp, but also the community which surrounds it. Jason Barbosa is one of the sawyers who helped out. He says he likes to give back.

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"It feels great. It feels like we really helped out in our community," he said.

Cutting down dead or diseased trees and creating fire breaks in areas like this doesn't prevent fire, but should a fire happen to break out it prevents it from spreading.

That gives firefighters a huge upper hand when they are battling a blaze, but doing this kind of work isn't easy. That's why Team Rubicon is here in force.

"It is a team job. It's always a team job especially with us at Team Rubicon," Barbosa said.

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Wildfires had a devastating effect on mountain communities in 2020, but if you think this a problem for the mountains, think again. When Colorado burns it hurts everyone in the state.

"We all feel it. We all see the smoke, and it's just devastating not only to the people of Colorado but to our economy of course," said Team Rubicon Spokesperson Rachel Fox.

Sawyers who volunteered also used the opportunity to get certified so if they are needed in other areas like California or Louisiana where they are prone to wildfires, they can go out there and do some mitigation for them as well.

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