Dear Rachel,
I, like many Durangoans, am worried that an unprecedented fire season is on the horizon. My family and I have put a lot of resources and effort toward fire mitigation on our property over the last few years, but we are sandwiched between neighbors with high-risk properties who have done none, which makes our efforts meaningless if their properties burn. We have tried to talk with our neighbors about this from the beginning and have received smiles and nods but no sign of effort. How can we approach another conversation about this concern while there may still be time this season to do some mitigating?
Dear Fire Conscious,
If ever we had thought our lives were separate from our neighbors’, independent and cordoned off by the vinyl-sided rectangles we inhabit, the increase of fire danger in the Southwest tells a different story.
Last fall, a bear pummeled the golden delicious apple tree we planted 28 years ago, after galumphing itself over the fence between us and our neighbors. Our interdependence was suddenly made more visible in the form of a bruin-sized sag in our shared metal boundary.
Marshall Rosenberg, who developed nonviolent communication said, “Our survival as a species depends on our ability to recognize that our well-being and the well-being of others are in fact one and the same.”
This is hard to grasp within the daily illusion of our separateness, even if every world religion says otherwise. What would life look like if we truly took this to heart?
Fire conscious neighbor, I am heartened that you are seeking another conversation, and haven’t written your neighbors off as uncaring or irresponsible. There is so much competing for our attention, even if one didn’t just spend much of spring watching NCAA women’s basketball. So many metaphorical fires to put out: completing taxes, understanding Durango’s new watering regulations and the daily funneling of one’s personal anger into character assaults in Herald online comments. The things that are unpleasant (colonoscopy) and costly (fire mitigation) tend not to rise to the top of our to-do lists, even if some part of us knows they need to be done.
I suggest you return to your neighbors and say, “I’d love to chat about fire mitigation around our properties. I know it’s a big hassle and we’re all so busy, but I’m worried about the severity of fire danger this summer. Is there a time in the next couple of days when you’d be willing to take a tour of our property and see what we’ve done? The effectiveness of our fire mitigation increases if our neighbors do some too."
Whether or not they agree to a firewise tour, I would try to get clarity regarding their intentions, not leaving it at “smiles and nods.” “Do you see yourselves tackling this before summer hits? It would help us to know what to expect.”
If it seems that fire-proofing their properties will stay at the south end of their to-do list indefinitely, thank them for their honesty, and see if you can gauge what the obstacle is. Perhaps it’s cost, lack of concern that they’re in real danger or total overwhelm with life’s other flares. Address their concerns if possible. Perhaps you could text them the name of the fire mitigation company you used, or suggest a Saturday collective neighborhood oak-thinning and leaf raking party followed by cold beverages?
And, if you’re still unable to convey that your well-being and theirs are inextricably linked, and their fire mitigation would greatly increase your sense of safety, consider offering to pay for some portion of the work.
Thanks to Bryan Peterson, founder of Durango Bear Smart and tireless advocate for bear/human safety, homeowners within city limits can now protect their fruit trees with electric mats and fencing, within city regulations. The rest of our fruit trees may survive this fall.
Shaw Solar’s move to become an employee-owned company is a tangible step toward the recognition that employee well-being and company well-being are indeed one and the same.
Rachel Turiel is a nonviolent communication mediator and coach who supports people to hear each other and work things out. Submit a question at rachelbturiel@gmail.com.
