A Wildfire One County Over: Ember-Proofing Your Minturn Home This August

Minturn has spent the summer with a fire burning in the county next door. The Willow Fire started on June 28 below Mount Massive in Lake County, on the other side of Tennessee Pass, and has burned more than 7,000 acres. It was one of the sources of the smoke that put Eagle County under an air-quality advisory in July. The fire itself is not a threat to town, but it is a useful reminder of how little separates a quiet summer from a bad one. Stage 2 fire restrictions have been in force here since late June and the state is in a drought emergency. If smoke or ash does reach your property, quick fire and smoke restoration limits the damage. The better plan is to make the house harder to ignite in the first place.

This guide explains how homes actually catch fire in a wildfire, where Minturn houses are most exposed, and what you can fix in a weekend.

Embers, not flames, are what ignite most homes

Most houses lost in wildfires are not overrun by a wall of fire. They are lit by wind-blown embers that land on something dry, sometimes a long way ahead of the fire front. That is good news for homeowners, because the places embers take hold are small, specific, and fixable.

Where Minturn homes are most exposed

• Roofs and gutters full of needles. Lodgepole and spruce litter in a gutter is kindling sitting against your roof edge.
• Unscreened vents. Attic, soffit, and crawlspace vents let embers into the parts of the house you never look at.
• Older wood siding, decks, and fences. Much of Minturn’s housing is older, and a wood fence attached to the house works like a fuse.
• Firewood stacked against the wall. It is convenient in January and a liability in August.
• Tight lots. In town, your neighbor’s shed or woodpile is part of your exposure.

A weekend checklist

1. Clean the roof and gutters. Repeat after every wind event through the fall.
2. Screen the vents. One-eighth-inch metal mesh blocks most embers and still lets the space breathe.
3. Clear the first five feet. Replace bark mulch next to the foundation with rock, and move planters, doormats, and furniture cushions away from the walls on high-danger days.
4. Move the woodpile. Thirty feet from the house if the lot allows, and uphill or level with the house, not below it.
5. Clean under the deck. Leaves, lumber scraps, and stored items under a deck are a common ignition point.
6. Record the house. Walk every room with your phone and narrate what you see. Store the video off site.

If smoke or ash arrives

Close the house, set the HVAC to recirculate, and bring porous items in from the deck. Leave ash where it lies until it can be cleaned with damp methods. Dry sweeping and pressure washing both push soot deeper into the surface. If an evacuation order comes, go. The house can be cleaned and repaired.

What DRS does on site

Our Eagle County crews respond 24/7. After a smoke or ash event in Minturn, a typical visit includes:

• Assessment of ash, soot, and odor across the exterior, interior, attic, and HVAC system
• Safe ash and soot removal with the right chemistry for oily residue
• HVAC and duct cleaning
• Contents cleaning and true odor removal
• Documentation of every affected area for your insurer

Common mistakes Minturn homeowners make

• Treating defensible space as a rural issue. Embers do not care that you live in town.
• Doing the work once. Gutters refill. Make it a routine through the end of fire season.
• Assuming the fire has to be close. Smoke from Lake County reached the valley in July without any local fire at all.

When to call a pro versus handle it yourself

Everything on the weekend checklist is a do-it-yourself job. Once there is ash on the property, soot indoors, or a smoke odor that will not air out, bring in a crew that can clean it properly and document it.

We are glad to look at a property before or after a smoke event. See how we serve Minturn or request an inspection.