2 years after Calwood Fire, Boulder County works to preserve landscape

Two years after the Calwood Fire burned more than 10,000 acres, charring near two dozen homes, Boulder County continues working to preserve what remains of the landscape. Last year, scorched trees were cut down, chipped and dispersed through what used to be the forest as mulch.

Much of the terrain impacted by the Calwood Fire is still inaccessible to the general public. 

As part of the reclamation process, helicopters picked up dead trees weighing hundreds of pounds, and flew them to a large pile. From there, the pile of trees were chipped into mulch. Helicopters then rotated, picked up large nets of mulch, and flew the chips back to where the trees once stood. The mulch is then dropped from the sky.

Doing so helps prevent landslides and flooding, and slows sediment from entering the South St. Vrain and Left Hand Creek, which provide drinking water to the front range.

The Boulder County crews focused on a 1,800-acre area for their current work.