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Briefs: What’s going on in the forest?

Daily Staff Report
Vail, CO Colorado

VAIL ” You can get more details on the work going on in the forests around Vail at a open house from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Sept. 6 in the Vail Town Council Chambers.

Homeowners also can get tips on protecting their property from forest fires and preparing for emergencies.

Crews, in a multi-year project called the Vail Valley Forest Health Plan, are cutting dead and dying trees from the forests in an effort the reduce the severity of future wildfires.



We have a lot of work going on this summer through the partnership between the town of Vail, Eagle County and Forest Service,” Eagle County Wildfire Mitigation Specialist Eric Lovgren said. “We want our citizens to have an understanding of this work and when it’s scheduled.

“We also want to educate them about how they can help make our work more efficient by taking steps to become ‘firewise’ and protect their own assets.”

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This year, trees will be cut on 15 acres of town of Vail land and 174 acres of national forest. Work will take place above Vermont Court and Stephen Park in Intermountain.

Helicopters will remove logs from both areas and haul them to plant where they can be made into pellets for biomass energy.

“It is critical that residents educate themselves in how to prepare for a wildfire and how they would react prior to seeing the flames around them,” Vail Wildland Coordinator Tom Talbot said. “Most home losses during a wildfire occur when flying embers land on roofs, trash, woodpiles and dead vegetation.”

Town law says homeowners must cut down infested pine trees on their property. Homeowners must get town approval first.

For more information about the open house go to Vail’s Pine Beetle Hotline at 477-3509 or http://www.vailgov.com.

INTERSTATE 70 ” Truckers must chair snow chains with them on the mountain stretch of Interstate 70 and face higher fines for not using them beginning Saturday.

Under the new law, commercial vehicles traveling on the freeway between Edwards and Morrison facing a $50 fine for not carrying chains. The penalty for not using them in snowstorms is $500.

The fine for not chaining up and getting into a crash that blocks traffic is $1,000.

The Colorado Department of Transportation, meanwhile, is building more pull-outs where truckers can put their chains on.


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