Water Damage in Black Forest, CO

What did the 2013 fire leave on the land?

The fire burned about 14,280 acres and destroyed 488 homes, according to an insurance trade report. The loss of ground cover is the part of the fire that matters for water. Bare or lightly covered ground lets heavy rain run off quickly, and the runoff carries whatever is loose on the slope.

The Black Forest burn scar is a rural case of the same effect that the Waldo Canyon burn produced in Manitou Springs. The sourced record does not measure the runoff for any particular property, and the readings on a property answer the question for it.

How is a rural-edge loss worked here?

The loss is worked in the same sequence as in the city. The source is stopped, the water is removed and the wet material is read. The dry standard is set from the house, and the equipment stays until the readings meet it.

Planning for access is part of the job in a rural area. The caller is told what is known about the property and the access when the call is made.

What should a Black Forest owner check after heavy rain?

Look at the drainage ditches, the culverts and the low corner of the lot for silt and debris. Clear any blockage, because runoff that backs up can reach the house.

Check the foundation and the lower walls for a new line or a crack after a storm, and keep a photograph of the walls for comparison.

What does a rural burn-scar homeowner check before the rains?

On a burn scar the soil can be loose, and a drive or a culvert can wash out in a storm. A rural owner should check the drive, the culverts and the ditch edges before the rains and after each heavy storm, and clear any debris that could block the flow.

The house itself should be checked too. A lower room, a crawl space or an outbuilding on a slope can take runoff, and the same silt line on the wall shows the path. A photograph of the house and the drive in dry weather gives a useful comparison after a storm.

Keeping a burn-scar lot's record

A rural lot on a burn scar gains from a dated record of each storm: the depth of any runoff, the silt line, the condition of the drive and the culverts. The record shows the trend of the lot over the seasons, and it helps the crew and the insurer read a new loss.