Gilpin County and Timberline Fire Protection District are working in partnership with the USDA Forest Service’s Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests to reduce wildfire risk and increase wildfire safety along priority evacuation corridors in Gilpin County. This project, which is currently in the planning process, will focus on removing hazardous trees and overgrown vegetation within 30 feet of the road shoulders. The first phase will focus on Gilpin, Lump Gulch, Missouri Gulch, Wedgewood, La Chula Vista and Pickle Gulch roads. Timberline Fire will be responsible for implementing the work, which could begin in mid-September 2025 and continue through December 2026. Fire crews, working with chainsaws, will focus on removing dead, down and leaning trees, and smaller green trees under 5 inches. Slash will be removed or burned. Larger trees will be stacked near the roads and will be available for collection by people with a valid firewood collection permit from the Forest Service. Timberline Fire and Gilpin County will be responsible for traffic management and communications during the course of the project.
We will update this article with dates and locations as they become available.