Fire Mitigation
Protecting the Foothills & Mountains West of Denver
Worried About Wildfires?
We Help Protect Your Home & Family From Forest Fires
While the Colorado foothills west of Denver are a beautiful place to live, the area is unfortunately prone to devastating wildfires. In fact, the Evergreen and Conifer area ranks in the top 10 areas country-wide at most risk for property loss due to wildfire*. Dry forest fuel (such as we usually experience in the summer) and high winds compound the problem.
Fire mitigation is one of the most important and effective ways to protect yourself, your family, and your home from the risk of catastrophic damage in a forest fire.
What Is Wildfire Mitigation?
Wildfire mitigation allows you to minimize the destructive effects a wildfire has on your property by creating a defensible space around your home and modifying the home's construction (for example, the materials used to build your house). Defensible space is the area around your house where the vegetation, including shrubs and trees, has been modified or removed to reduce the intensity of a wildfire and slow its spread.
Most Insurance Companies Require Fire Mitigation
Colorado as a whole has the country's third-highest percentage of homes at risk of destruction from wildfire, with over 366,000 homes at risk (according to a wildfire risk management tool used by insurers).
It's therefore not surprising that most companies that provide homeowner (or commercial building) insurance in our area require you to create and implement a fire mitigation plan before they will provide (or renew) your insurance. Without insurance, not only are you financially responsible for all damage, but your mortgage company (which requires you to have homeowners insurance) may cancel your financing.
Unfortunately, we're seeing more homeowners being dropped by insurance companies due to worries about wildfire risk and the associated costs of property damage. This article from the Denver Gazette has some helpful information (and you can see the LAM crew at work in one of the photos!) - 'Tipping point:' Colorado homeowners face insurance coverage refusal in high-risk areas.
When the Law Requires a Fire Mitigation Plan
When you buy a new home in the Denver Foothils region, the law mandates that you obtain a fire mitigation plan from the county.
If the plan calls for trees to be removed from around your house, you must hire a tree care company to remove the trees (note - it's important to hire a tree company that understands fire mitigation!). The property must then be reinspected by the Forestry inspector before you can be issued a certificate of occupancy (CO).
Some insurance companies also require that certificate in order to provide property insurance coverage (in addition to their own inspection).
Fire Mitigation Services from LAM Tree Service
Our tree care professionals focus on reducing the number and volume of combustible plant fuels around your property to create a defensible space.
We focus on three levels of potential threats to your property:
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Ground Fuels
These are combustible materials found on the ground, such as dry leaves and needles, fallen trees and branches, and dead plants (including trees). Removing them helps to slow down the speed and intensity of a wildfire.
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Ladder Fuels
Ladder fuels are materials that allow a fire to spread upward from the ground to the tree canopy or your roof. We carefully remove young trees/saplings, the lower branches of trees and any large shrubs that could ignite in a fire.
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Top Fuels
Heavy tree canopies allow a fire to quickly jump from tree to tree and spread beyond the reach of fire crews on the ground. Selectively thinning tree canopies can lower the risk of fire spreading.
Why Hire LAM Tree Service for Fire Mitigation
There are many companies in the Denver Foothills area that claim to do "fire mitigation". But what we see far too often is a property on which all trees have been cut to the ground, and the shrubs and undergrowth removed entirely. While that may seem like the best option, in many cases it only serves to make the wildfire risk greater in the long term.
We minimize the fire risk on your property without turning it into a barren wasteland.
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Fire Mitigation Work Done by Arborists
Because of the connection between trees and wildfires, the arborists at LAM Tree Service have become well-versed in the correct way to make Colorado properties firewise.
Unlike logging and landscaping companies, hiring an arborist for wildfire mitigation work on your property means that the work will be done with a full understanding of how wildfire risk is affected by different tree species, tree health and structure, spacing and placement of mature and understory trees, and more. If you want to care for your trees the right way, hire an arborist - we're the tree experts.
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Preserve Your Valuable Mature Trees
Not all trees need to be removed for fire mitigation. In fact, removing all trees can leave room for invasive plants and weeds to spring up, which are more of a fire hazard.
We can help you save and care for the valuable mature trees on your property.
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Create a Beautiful AND Firewise Space
Native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers all have their place on a fire-wise property. We can show you how you can have a yard filled with plants that is still utilizing fire mitigation tools.
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Choose Native Trees and Plants That Benefit Our Local Wildlife
Choosing native trees and plants not only makes your property more fire-wise, but it benefits our local wildlife. The experts at LAM Tree Service can help you choose (and plant!) native varieties that are beautiful and helpful.
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Minimize Fire Danger on Your Colorado Property
LAM Tree Service has 40+ years of experience living and working in the Evergreen, Colorado area. We have the tools, experience, and knowledge to help you mitigate fire dangers on your property without harming the ecosystem.
Create a Defensible AND Beautiful Space
Defensible space doesn't have to be barren and ugly!
The Certified Arborists at LAM Tree Service can help you create a defensible and beautiful space around your home. You can have an attractive landscape that mitigates the spread of wildfire by:
- carefully choosing plants that are less flammable,
- planting and properly spacing them in areas that are less likely to contribute to wildfire, and
- maintaining healthy plants that are more fire resistant.
We specialize in helping you make the right choices and then implementing the plan to make your property and loved ones safer.
Get A Fire Mitigation Estimate
Call us at 303-674-8733 or contact us online to get an estimate for Fire Mitigation or a firewise landscaping consultation. Please note that there is a charge to provide an estimate for fire mitigation services.
Fire Mitigation Resources
For more details about creating a fire-resistant landscape to prevent or reduce wildfire damage to your home, check out our Firewise Landscaping Resource page.
Or see this Consumer Advisory from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies with fire mitigation and insurance tips.
We also have answers to common questions in our Fire Mitigation FAQs.
Why Wildfire Risk Is Increasing In Evergreen, CO & Surrounding Areas
Great Plants for Firewise Landscapes in the Colorado Foothills
CONTACT US
LAM Tree Service, Inc.
P. O. Box 2486, Evergreen, CO 80437-2486
Physical Location:
30476 Bryant Drive, Evergreen, CO
Phone: 303-674-8733
HOURS
Monday—Friday: 8:00AM–4:00PM
Saturday & Sunday by appointment only
