ATVs Help Out in the Danger Zone
Feb.
6, 2003 – Imagine a devastating fire that burns for more than five weeks
and destroys thousands of acres of forest.
Now imagine the aftermath: a landscape of unsteady burned trees that could fall at any time, the danger of heavy rains causing floods and mudslides, plus loose rocks that could tumble down mountainsides because of the loss of vegetation that helped hold the rocks in place.
It’s a danger zone.
That’s exactly what Colorado officials are now facing. And they’re dealing with the danger with the help of volunteers aboard ATVs.
The Hayman Fire that destroyed 137,760 acres of the Pike National Forest in central Colorado was the largest fire in the state’s recorded history. The fire burned out of control from June 8 to July 18.
Some 600 structures were lost in the blaze, including 133 homes. Officials peg the cost of the fire to date at more than $39 million.
Because of the danger, the entire area is closed to the public.
On August 3, about 1,000 volunteers, including 50 ATVers and their machines, turned out for Colorado Cares Day at the burned-out area to help with efforts to restore the forest.
Colorado Cares is an annual event supported by hundreds of businesses, churches, synagogues, charities and other civic groups and individuals across the state. State officials say that besides taking part in one-day service projects, citizen volunteers make commitments to serving their communities throughout the year.
Corey Corbett, vice chairman of the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition, says his organization coordinated the ATV volunteer effort dealing with Hayman Fire damage. Clubs that took part included the Colorado Quad Runners and the Northern Colorado Trail Riders.
The
1,000 volunteers, made up of people from all walks of life, were divided into
10 teams of about 100 each, with each team supported by ATV riders. The volunteers
were brought in by city buses to toil on a one-square-mile area of public and
private land.
“It’s only a very small part of the total land mass that was burned,” Corbett says. “The whole effort is to get Mother Nature back to work. There were so many people, whether they were enthusiasts or users, who wanted to help.”
Colorado Gov. Bill Owens led the effort. The goal was to break up the hard soil and plant wild oat seeds to reclaim the forest.
ATV riders hauled tined drags behind their machines “to break through that hard crust,” Corbett says. “The sap pops out of trees during fires and afterwards it’s like walking on frozen snow with the crunch, crunch, crunch.”
Seeds wouldn’t germinate if the ATVers didn’t break up the soil. Volunteers raked the soil, spread wild oat seeds that germinate quickly, and added a layer of straw to help hold in the moisture.
“The overall objective is to retain the soil,” Corbett says.
The ATVs were able to break up the soil 10 times faster than if volunteers had to do it all by hand.
The
ATVers also hauled hay bales and did other chores that would have been back-breaking
work for volunteers without machines.
The state had approached the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition for help because the officials knew they would need versatile machinery like ATVs.
The ATVers came through and plan to continue to take part in further restoration projects.
“Overall, everyone enjoyed the opportunity to do it,” Corbett said of the ATVers. “They were happy to help and really enjoyed doing it. They felt they had done some good.”
This is a perfect example of ATV enthusiasts giving back to the community, and promoting a positive image of ATVing. Corbett suggests clubs around the nation get prepared now to help out government land managers when they need the special help that can be provided by ATVs.
“Clubs need to establish a close working relationship and communication with land managers so that if there is any type of disaster they will know who to call,” Corbett says.
“An ATV can carry materials and supplies into areas that other vehicles can’t reach, and can do so without leaving a trace,” Corbett says.
It will take many years for the Colorado forests to fully recover. Augmenting the work of ground crews, the U.S. Forest Service is continuing emergency rehabilitation work.
That work involves dropping hydro-mulch, which is a green-colored mixture of grass seed, fiber, water and a substance to hold the mulch together, onto less-accessible areas.
Of course, much more work also remains to be done on the ground and when needed, the ATVs will be there.
