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BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The wintry weather expected on Wednesday may delay the latest Marshall Fire cleanup effort. 

On Tuesday, contractors began a process called hydromulching in Superior. 

“It’s a soil stabilizing effort,” said Boulder County public works spokesman Andrew Barth. 

Crews spray a sticky green goo on properties that were burned. According to Barth, it is natural and non-toxic. As it dries, it forms a thin crust that seals in everything beneath it, including toxic ash. 

“What we’re trying to do is keep that ash and other material that could possibly become airborne in the wind or runoff from the snow melts here from entering our waterways,” Barth said. 

The process is traditionally used on construction sites. However, Boulder County is now employing the same technique to around 1,000 properties affected by the Marshall Fire. 

“Other communities that have burned in Colorado and California and Oregon have employed this practice and it has helped considerably until we’re able to get there with trucks and haul that stuff away,” Barth said.

According to Barth, the county has been ready to begin hydromulching efforts but had to wait until now due to the weather. 

“We need that ground to be bare and also dry, so that’s what we’ve been waiting for is a day just like today to get out there and start applying the materials,” he said. 

Wednesday’s anticipated snowfall will delay crews from spraying more properties. It is unclear when work will resume. 

“And then we’ll have to wait again until weather conditions are favorable,” Barth said. “It’s going to have to be dry again for a few days for that surface snow to melt and consistent warm days, because if you spray it at too cold of temperatures it just freezes and doesn’t do what it does to stick.”

He expects it will take 15 full working days to complete hydromulching efforts across the burn scar. However, each of those 15 days could be separated by cold, snowy or rainy days. 

Each property costs about $400 to spray. According to Barth, the process is “relatively inexpensive” considering the public health benefits.

“This stuff could stay for months if need be,” he said. 

As long as the hydromulch crust is not disturbed, walked-on, crunched or cracked, he says it is designed to last until cleanup crews can address each property individually. 

“It will be scraped and moved away when we get there for the debris cleanup,” he said.