LOVELAND, Colo. — One local nonprofit is working to prepare those impacted by recent wildfires for dangers that come with a post-fire environment.
Justin Louen, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Pueblo, says once a wildfire is contained and eventually extinguished, a lot of threats sand hazards still remain.
Those hazards include flash flooding and debris flow.
Louen noted that this time of year is usually peak monsoon season in Colorado, which is when we see the highest risk for flash flooding, even for areas not impacted by wildfires.
“When the monsoon really kicks into gear. That's just more moisture that's working its way up here into Colorado, and there's just that much more moisture in the atmosphere that can precipitate and fall as rain,” he added.
That ‘s why Serve 6.8 is inviting volunteers to create thousands of sandbags over the next couple of months to distribute to those in the areas that may need them.
“What we have learned in Colorado and globally is that after a fire, ground becomes what they call hydrophobic. It's water repellent, and so when rain comes into the burn scars, the ground is unstable,” said Nancy Mann, a mobility manager with Serve 6.8.
Saturday, the organization held their first sandbagging event for the season with the goal of creating and delivering about 1,000 sandbags to Custer County for those impacted by the Aspen Acres fire.
Mann, who has volunteered with the organization for six years, says in the past, the organization created tens of thousands of sandbags for those impacted by the Cameron Peak fire and the Alexander Mountain fire.
It's an act of service she describes as a tangible way to support others.
“In the wake of the Cameron Peak fire, the largest fire in Colorado history, was right here in our backyard. So in 2021, after the fire was over, we from March through into June made 25,000 sandbags delivered up into the mountains right here in our own backyard,” she remembered.
“That fire was so large that we made sandbags again the following year. 15,000 sandbags for people,” she added.
The Cameron Peak fire was one where Mann says she saw the need firsthand, noting she could see the fire and ash from that fire.
“I live five miles east of I-25. That fire was on the backside of the foothills, and I had ash from that fire landing in my front yard,” she said.
“When you knew that ash that burned someone's property was blowing onto your property, that was very galvanizing for people to come and be active and take care of their neighbors,” she added.
For the Alexander Mountain fire, Mann says volunteers made about 7,500 sandbags.
“That Alexander Mountain Fire, those people left that Highway 34 Canyon area that morning, they went to work like a normal day, and some of them didn't get to go home for a month,” she said.
“It could come to me one day that I could be the one that left to go to work and don't have a home to go back to,” she added.
Richard Hamilton, another volunteer who has been with the organization for eight years, emphasized just how fulfilling events like these are.
“All it takes is a phone call or a text message, and I do my best to be here every time,” he said.
The organization had a goal of creating anywhere between 1,000 and 1,500 sandbags Saturday to be shipped off to Custer County.
“In the Aspen Acres fire, Custer County, they have reached out saying they know they're going to need sandbags. So, our first three shipments will go to them, and then from there, I've made sure Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico. Everyone knows that we're making sandbags,” explained Ashlee Schmitt, the mobilization director with the organization.
Serve 6.8 will make sandbags every Saturday over the next few months expecting to make 15,000 to 20,000 sandbags.
“Monsoon seasons August and September, so there's going to be some immediate flooding that happens, but also looking ahead to spring runoff and the start of rainy season for next year to make sure we have some sandbags pre-staged for families who are going to need them,” said Schmitt.
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