courtesy CK Morey
HUERFANO — Just after midnight Saturday morning, Huerfano County FPD and mutual aid from La Veta FPD responded to fire call in Navajo Ranch Subdivision west of Walsenburg. Upon arrival they found that hot stove ash had been spread out on the ground near the house Friday evening. The result of this thoughtless act was a three acre wildfire that could have been devastating to nearby homes. The landowner did lose several hundred dollars’ worth of firewood piled near house. Firefighters foamed down the house to keep radiant heat and sparks from igniting it.
“The volunteers are exhausted” stated CK Morey, Chairman for the Las Animas County Fire Chief Association, “they have been responding a lot to fires this past week including the 66 acres CR 317 Fire.” Volunteers give up work time, family time, and now sleep time to respond to help others with out pay. “Volunteers do not get enough appreciation from some of landowners,” stated Morey. “Maybe it is just lack of understanding.”
Morey urges landowners to take the following steps:
• Place stove and fire place ash in metal container with tight fitting lid,
• Wait minimum of 10 days for any hot ash to cool down,
• Spread out cooled ash and sprinkle with two gallons of water. Mix with soil using hoe or shovel. Some landowners choose to dig a hole to put ash in and pour in water and then cover with soil.
To encourage homeowners and renters to protect their ashes, the Fire Chief Association is doing a fund raiser by offering high quality double bottom metal ash cans. The cans are 13 inches in diameter at the top and come with a tight fitting cover and a small flat bottom ash shovel. For a donation of $55 you get one can, for a donation of $100, you will receive two containers. Contact CK Morey at 719-989-2370 or email: clarence.morey@colostate.edu for more info!
As Smokey Bear might say: “ONLY YOU can protect your ASH”.
Please give our volunteers a BREAK so they can rest. Buy an ash can!
