Woodside Park Homeowners Association Units 2 through 6 are proud to be officially recognized as a Firewise Community by the National Fire Protection Association. Our Association, which represents Units 1, 2, 3 and 4, is pleased to be joined by Woodside Park Homeowners Association Units 5 and 6 to build awareness in our community about wildfire dangers and how to take action to mitigate those dangers in the wildland-urban interface. To read the Elk Creek Fire Protection District assessment of Woodside, which was prepared for our original application in 2013, please click here.
Firewise Committee
Co- Chair Kelly Flynn (513) 535-5616 kelcolo@yahoo.com
Member, Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 Linda Klein lrezklein@gmail.com
Member, Units 5 and 6 Doug Windemuller (303) 838-6337 thedouglascompany@juno.com
Firewise Committee
Co- Chair Kelly Flynn (513) 535-5616 kelcolo@yahoo.com
Member, Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 Linda Klein lrezklein@gmail.com
Member, Units 5 and 6 Doug Windemuller (303) 838-6337 thedouglascompany@juno.com
2019 Woodside Park Slash Chipping Events
(Registration is now closed for 2019. Check back later for 2020 chipping program, if available)
The Woodside Park Firewise Committee is pleased to announce chipping events for 2019. Elk Creek Fire Protection District will once again provide the chipping service to Woodside for no charge. This is a great opportunity to get that slash off of your property! The fire district has made a few changes to how the events will be run this year. Please see the below and feel free to contact Lorna Serber, or any of the Firewise Committee members, if you have questions.
We will be holding monthly events this year from May through September. This will give you five opportunities to have slash chipped. You may participate each month if you would like.
Elk Creek Fire Protection District is unable to lock us in for specific dates due to their fluid schedule and unpredictability of wildfires which they may be assigned to assist with. For each month that you would like to participate in you will need to sign up through the Firewise Committee a minimum of five days prior to the start of the month for which you are requesting chipping. You will then need to have your slash put out by the first day of that month. The chipping crew will try to have it chipped sometime before the end of that month. You do not need to be home at the time of chipping. For the May event, please let us know by April 26 if you would like to participate. Please contact Lorna Serber at boulderlas@msn.com; or call (303) 548-9507. We will need your name, address, phone number and email address. We will send out a reminder near the end of each month so you may sign up for the month(s) you are interested in now, or as we send each monthly reminder.
Materials Guidelines
Accepted materials include trees, logs and branches up to 12 inches in diameter, free of nails and wire.
The following restrictions apply:
Pile Guidelines
Juniper Guidelines
Not adhering to the guidelines
Firewise Recording Form
If you prefer not to have your slash chipped there are several other ways to have it removed from your property. The Coalition for Upper South Platte (CUSP) has a slash site in Bailey where you may drop off your slash. Please see the following link for details: https://baileyslashsite.com. Jefferson County also holds various slash collection events throughout the summer. The following link provides information: https://www.jeffco.us/slash.
(Registration is now closed for 2019. Check back later for 2020 chipping program, if available)
The Woodside Park Firewise Committee is pleased to announce chipping events for 2019. Elk Creek Fire Protection District will once again provide the chipping service to Woodside for no charge. This is a great opportunity to get that slash off of your property! The fire district has made a few changes to how the events will be run this year. Please see the below and feel free to contact Lorna Serber, or any of the Firewise Committee members, if you have questions.
We will be holding monthly events this year from May through September. This will give you five opportunities to have slash chipped. You may participate each month if you would like.
Elk Creek Fire Protection District is unable to lock us in for specific dates due to their fluid schedule and unpredictability of wildfires which they may be assigned to assist with. For each month that you would like to participate in you will need to sign up through the Firewise Committee a minimum of five days prior to the start of the month for which you are requesting chipping. You will then need to have your slash put out by the first day of that month. The chipping crew will try to have it chipped sometime before the end of that month. You do not need to be home at the time of chipping. For the May event, please let us know by April 26 if you would like to participate. Please contact Lorna Serber at boulderlas@msn.com; or call (303) 548-9507. We will need your name, address, phone number and email address. We will send out a reminder near the end of each month so you may sign up for the month(s) you are interested in now, or as we send each monthly reminder.
Materials Guidelines
Accepted materials include trees, logs and branches up to 12 inches in diameter, free of nails and wire.
The following restrictions apply:
- No construction or building materials, treated lumber, fence posts or signs
- No shrubs, root wads, stumps, dirt or rocks. These items clog and damage chipping equipment.
- No grass clippings, trash, weeds, bags of leaves or raked needles
- NEW THIS YEAR! The chipping crew will be operating a chipper truck and hauling off the chips starting this season. Quite a lot of chips have been accumulated over the past couple of years of chipping and they do not want to create an additional hazard with too many chips around. You no longer have to worry about excess chipping material on your property!
- NEW THIS YEAR! If the crew happened to go up your driveway last year to get to some piles as a courtesy, they can no longer accommodate these requests. Given that they now have a bigger truck with the chip material removal, the larger truck has less maneuverability. All of your material must be placed on the roadway, per the below pile guidelines.
Pile Guidelines
- Piles must be in place by 8:00 AM on the first day of the month you are participating in
- Stack piles neatly (no bags) with the large ends of branches facing the road
- Place piles within 5 feet of the roadway, but not touching the road or in drainage ditches
- Maximum pile size is 5' x 5' x 5'. There is no limit on the number of piles you may put out.
- After the crews have removed your pile, clear away any remaining branches, needles and debris
- Do not combine your piles with your neighbors' piles
- No piles that have been created by any machinery
Juniper Guidelines
- Any juniper that you want chipped must not include any roots. It may be tempting to simply pull the juniper bush out of the ground because they have such a shallow root wad, but that also pulls up all of the dirt with it. Juniper must be lopped/cut before the root and may not contain any dirt. In addition, the juniper must be stacked neatly in a separate pile from any other slash. If the chipping crew determines that there is excess dirt and/or roots they will most likely not chip the juniper pile.
Not adhering to the guidelines
- If any of the above guidelines are not followed, your slash may not get chipped. It will be the homeowner's responsibility to have the material chipped on their own or have it hauled to a slash site. It is not to remain near the road if the crew cannot chip. Please respect the requirements so that we may utilize the service for many years to come.
Firewise Recording Form
- Please take a few minutes to fill out the NEW Firewise recording form (click here for form) for ANY mitigation work you do. This includes participating in the chipping events (time to cut the trees/branches, haul to road, etc.) and any other mitigation you do yourself or hire a contractor to perform. You may record time for raking pinecones and pine needles, cleaning your gutters, installing a metal roof, removing trees, etc. Recording work performed is a very important piece to retaining our Firewise status and to obtaining grants.
If you prefer not to have your slash chipped there are several other ways to have it removed from your property. The Coalition for Upper South Platte (CUSP) has a slash site in Bailey where you may drop off your slash. Please see the following link for details: https://baileyslashsite.com. Jefferson County also holds various slash collection events throughout the summer. The following link provides information: https://www.jeffco.us/slash.
Mitigation Activity Tracking Form
The Firewise Committee is on the hunt for grant funds to help Woodside residents with costs associated with fire mitigation efforts on their properties, such as clearing juniper bushes and otherwise creating defensible space around their homes. Most grants require at least some amount of matching funds. We don't have a cash reserve to use for matching, but what we do have is "in kind" funds stemming from mitigation work that we do on our properties or contract with someone to do for us. The current value in Colorado of every hour of volunteer mitigation work is $24.14. In order to aggregate "in kind" funds we ask all residents to track every volunteer hour of mitigation work they do on their properties. Here's a FORM that you can use for tracking the work you have completed. More than one person working at a time? Be sure to record the hours of every person who helps with mitigation work because the value of the work is per hour per person. You may also record dollars spent on mitigation efforts, for tools purchased or contractors retained to do the work for you. By recording your hours and expenses and submitting the information to the Firewise Committee you are helping all of Woodside, and that's a good thing!
The Firewise Committee is on the hunt for grant funds to help Woodside residents with costs associated with fire mitigation efforts on their properties, such as clearing juniper bushes and otherwise creating defensible space around their homes. Most grants require at least some amount of matching funds. We don't have a cash reserve to use for matching, but what we do have is "in kind" funds stemming from mitigation work that we do on our properties or contract with someone to do for us. The current value in Colorado of every hour of volunteer mitigation work is $24.14. In order to aggregate "in kind" funds we ask all residents to track every volunteer hour of mitigation work they do on their properties. Here's a FORM that you can use for tracking the work you have completed. More than one person working at a time? Be sure to record the hours of every person who helps with mitigation work because the value of the work is per hour per person. You may also record dollars spent on mitigation efforts, for tools purchased or contractors retained to do the work for you. By recording your hours and expenses and submitting the information to the Firewise Committee you are helping all of Woodside, and that's a good thing!
Fire Season Is Here To Stay—Safety First!
Ready, Set, Go!: Elk Creek Fire Protection District encourages all of us to know what to do in case a wildfire threatens our homes. Check out the publication regarding emergency preparedness on the Elk Creek website here, and the Ready, Set, Go! website here.
Firewise USA: Take a look at the Firewise website. It's full of helpful information on wildfire safety and preparedness. Also check out two helpful Guides, the Homeowner Checklist identifying action steps now and through the year to prepare and help reduce the risk of your home and property becoming fuel for a wildfire, and Red Flag Day suggestions to get you ready in the event an evacuation order is issued.
Slash Sites: Slash drop off sites are available in Bailey and Jefferson County throughout the summer months. You may visit the respective websites for dates and additional information at: Bailey Slash Site or Jefferson County Slash Site.
Reflective Green Address Signs: The 6” by 18” green address signs with white reflective numbers are available for just $10. These are the same signs available for sale at Park County administrative offices in Fairplay at the same price -- just closer! To order one, call Andrea Black at the Platte Canyon Fire Station at Crow Hill, (303) 838-5853, or email her.
Code Red® Program:
Park County Code RED® program: register your phone number(s) at www.parkco.us to receive emergency notifications.
Jefferson County Code RED® program: register your phone number(s) at Code Red.
Other Helpful Materials:
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Publication number 6.302, entitled Creating Wildfire-Defensible Zones, available by clicking here.
Smokey Bear is still educating people on Wildland Fire Prevention. Check out the website for helpful information.
The U.S. Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for the upcoming months may be viewed by clicking HERE.
Tax Credit for Mitigation Costs Extended Through Tax Year 2024
As authorized by C.R.S. § 39-22-104(4) (n), for income tax years through 2024 individuals, estates and trusts may deduct from federal taxable income listed on their Colorado State Income Tax Return up to 50% [see note below] of the costs incurred in performing wildfire mitigation measures that meet the following qualifications and limitations:
(1) The taxpayer must own the property upon which the mitigation measures are performed;
(2) the property upon which the wildfire mitigation measures are performed must be located in Colorado;
(3) the property upon which the wildfire mitigation measures are performed must be located in a wild land-urban interface area;
(4) the wildfire mitigation measures must be authorized by a community wildfire protection plan adopted by a local government within the interface area; and
(5) the total amount of the subtraction may not exceed $2,500.
A summary of the statute by the Colorado Department of Revenue can be found here.
Please visit with a tax professional if you have any questions on what items may be claimed or need additional information about this claiming this subtraction on your tax return.
Note: Colorado has increased the subtraction for private landowner mitigation from 50% to 100% of mitigation expenses for the years 2017 through 2019, not to exceed $2,500. See summary here.
Ready, Set, Go!: Elk Creek Fire Protection District encourages all of us to know what to do in case a wildfire threatens our homes. Check out the publication regarding emergency preparedness on the Elk Creek website here, and the Ready, Set, Go! website here.
Firewise USA: Take a look at the Firewise website. It's full of helpful information on wildfire safety and preparedness. Also check out two helpful Guides, the Homeowner Checklist identifying action steps now and through the year to prepare and help reduce the risk of your home and property becoming fuel for a wildfire, and Red Flag Day suggestions to get you ready in the event an evacuation order is issued.
Slash Sites: Slash drop off sites are available in Bailey and Jefferson County throughout the summer months. You may visit the respective websites for dates and additional information at: Bailey Slash Site or Jefferson County Slash Site.
Reflective Green Address Signs: The 6” by 18” green address signs with white reflective numbers are available for just $10. These are the same signs available for sale at Park County administrative offices in Fairplay at the same price -- just closer! To order one, call Andrea Black at the Platte Canyon Fire Station at Crow Hill, (303) 838-5853, or email her.
Code Red® Program:
Park County Code RED® program: register your phone number(s) at www.parkco.us to receive emergency notifications.
Jefferson County Code RED® program: register your phone number(s) at Code Red.
Other Helpful Materials:
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Publication number 6.302, entitled Creating Wildfire-Defensible Zones, available by clicking here.
Smokey Bear is still educating people on Wildland Fire Prevention. Check out the website for helpful information.
The U.S. Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for the upcoming months may be viewed by clicking HERE.
Tax Credit for Mitigation Costs Extended Through Tax Year 2024
As authorized by C.R.S. § 39-22-104(4) (n), for income tax years through 2024 individuals, estates and trusts may deduct from federal taxable income listed on their Colorado State Income Tax Return up to 50% [see note below] of the costs incurred in performing wildfire mitigation measures that meet the following qualifications and limitations:
(1) The taxpayer must own the property upon which the mitigation measures are performed;
(2) the property upon which the wildfire mitigation measures are performed must be located in Colorado;
(3) the property upon which the wildfire mitigation measures are performed must be located in a wild land-urban interface area;
(4) the wildfire mitigation measures must be authorized by a community wildfire protection plan adopted by a local government within the interface area; and
(5) the total amount of the subtraction may not exceed $2,500.
A summary of the statute by the Colorado Department of Revenue can be found here.
Please visit with a tax professional if you have any questions on what items may be claimed or need additional information about this claiming this subtraction on your tax return.
Note: Colorado has increased the subtraction for private landowner mitigation from 50% to 100% of mitigation expenses for the years 2017 through 2019, not to exceed $2,500. See summary here.
USAA Offers Insurance Discounts for Members Living in Firewise Communities in Colorado
USAA members now can save money on their homeowners insurance premiums by living within the boundaries of a recognized Firewise Communities/USA® program. Currently, the discounts are available to eligible members in California, Colorado and Texas, three states prone to wildfire activity. Check out the article here.
USAA members now can save money on their homeowners insurance premiums by living within the boundaries of a recognized Firewise Communities/USA® program. Currently, the discounts are available to eligible members in California, Colorado and Texas, three states prone to wildfire activity. Check out the article here.