July 22, 2013 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Forests, Wildfire
FRISCO —Coloradans living in forests are trying to fireproof their communities as larger and hotter wildfires destroy more homes and firefighting costs grow intolerable.
Increasing numbers of burn-zone residents are finding they have little choice but to coexist with wildfire — part of the natural environment and crucial to keeping forests healthy.
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County authorities and local fire chiefs are encouraging the shift toward greater self-protection, aided by the federally backed Fire Adapted Communities program.
July 20, 2013 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Water, Wildfire
HORSETOOTH RESERVOIR — Top U.S. environmental officials Friday began a push to protect the nation’s federally run water-supply reservoirs against wildfires.
The fear is that worsening wildfires will trigger erosion that damages dams, canals and pipelines, and shrinks water storage, ultimately driving up water costs for ratepayers.
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July 18, 2013 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Wildfire
Stafford Brochu, 75, has considered the costs of fireproofing as he rebuilds his 5,200 square foot stucco home that was destroyed by the Black Forest fire in June.
A heat-activated indoor sprinkler system would cost around $30,000, Brochu said. “And that doesn’t include the cost of the generator” to run the sprinklers if firefighters had to shut down electricity. “We’re talking a lot of money.”
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July 1, 2013 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Wildfire
Federal fire managers ordered safety stand-downs Monday morning and gave hundreds of wildland firefighters the option of packing up and going home after 19 elite crew members were killed in Arizona.
“The immediate impact of that fire is on re-focusing everybody throughout the fire community on safety,” said National Interagency Fire Center spokesman Randy Eardley. “They will talk about it, reflect on it and refocus their efforts on safety.”
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June 24, 2013 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment
GOLDEN — Workers in the nation’s largest brewery have transformed their operations and no longer send any garbage to dumps.
After nearly two years of developing ways to divert 135 tons of trash each month, MillerCoors leaders on Monday announced that all waste now is recycled.
Two years ago, brewery managers were paying Waste Management to haul those tons of glass, spent grain and hops, plastics and metals for burial in metro landfills. MillerCoors now projects a $1 million a year revenue boost from the sale of recycled materials at the Golden plant alone.
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June 23, 2013 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Energy, Environment, Oil and Gas Drilling, Water
At least 1,500 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil will be hauled from the oil and gas spill along Parachute Creek to Utah for final disposal.
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June 22, 2013 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Wildfire
SOUTH FORK — Wildfires spread to an estimated 66,200 acres Saturday in spruce-beetle-ravaged forests, continuing to imperil tourist towns on the west edge of Colorado’s San Luis Valley.
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June 1, 2013 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Wildfire
JAMESTOWN — A team combining ecological know-how with hotshot firefighting is being deployed in Front Range forests to try to address Colorado’s wildfire predicament: needing the purge of fire but not wanting it.
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May 26, 2013 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Wildlife
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK — A dozen moose transplanted in 1978 found an ideal safe harbor in Colorado’s high country, multiplying rapidly and migrating across mountains into South Park and the foothills west of Denver.
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May 22, 2013 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Pollution, Wildlife
Frogs, toads and other amphibians are vanishing so fast nationwide that if the decline continues at the same rate, they’ll be gone from half their current habitats in 20 years, a federal study has found.
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A journalist and lawyer, Bruce Finley has investigated local, national and international issues with on-site reporting in more than 40 countries. In his position as a staff writer for the Denver Post, he is focusing on environment-related news including water challenges, the oil and gas boom and wildfire.
