The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office in collaboration with Mesa County Road and Bridge is nearing the completion of a wildfire mitigation project in Lewis Wash to reduce the fire danger to nearby homes. 

The Lewis Wash project is 1.25 acres of overgrown vegetation located in the River Bend Townhomes Owners Association near D and 31 Roads.  The dense fuels in Lewis Wash pose a significant fire risk to the more than 60 neighboring townhomes. 

Should a fire start in the area, fire mitigation work aims to reduce the intensity and slow the spread of a potentially dangerous wildfire long enough for homes to evacuate and fire crews to begin fire suppression. 

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Wildland Fire team cleared out invasive plants such as tamarisk and thinned out the dry vegetation using hand tools and machinery with the help of Mesa County Road and Bridge. Most of the vegetation was mulched on-site to encourage more natural growth of native plants in the wash.    

The area has also, unfortunately, served as an illegal dumping ground. The Sheriff’s Office in collaboration with the Mesa County Stormwater Program is bringing in a dumpster and will clean up the area to complete the mitigation project.

This is the second section of Lewis Wash the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Wildland Fire Team has worked on. Last spring, fire mitigation work was completed in Lewis Wash between E ½ and F Roads to reduce fire danger to nearby homes. Fire mitigation work is funded by a Bureau of Land Management Community Assistance Grant. To learn more about mitigation efforts, click here. 

If any homeowner, homeowners association, or business would like more information about reducing the fire danger for an area of concern please contact the Two River Wildfire Coalition. For information about how to protect your own property from wildfire, click here.

Video of the project is courtesy of the City of Grand Junction.