Volunteers cut down burned trees and cleared debris left over from the Waldo Canyon fire on Aug.26, 2012. The cadets performed cleanup for more than 100 homeowners and three city open spaces. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Elizabeth Andrews)

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Volunteers cut down burned trees and cleared debris left over from the Waldo Canyon fire on Aug. 26, 2012. The cadets performed cleanup for more than 100 homeowners and three city open spaces. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Raymond Hoy)

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Cadet 2nd Class Warren McGriff, of Cadet Squadron 05, cuts through a tree during fire mitigation and cleanup efforts in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood on Aug. 26, 2012. Mountain Shadows was one of the hardest hit areas during the recent Waldo Canyon Fire that destroyed 346 homes. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. Raymond Hoy)

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Academy helps community heal from Waldo Canyon fire

Published Aug. 30, 2012

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- Nearly 345 cadets, faculty and staff members helped residentsof Mountain Shadows, Colo., cut, gather, haul and stack organic slash, branches, deadfall and some burned trees and limbs during the community's semi-annual "Chipper Event" for fire mitigation on Aug. 26, 2012.

Academy volunteers worked with Academy School District 20 volunteers to provide fire mitigation in the hardest hit community during the Waldo Canyon Fire. The event was sponsored by the Colorado Springs Fire Department and the Mountain Shadows Community Association.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department followed Monday by chipping the material and using it for erosion control and landscape recovery efforts within and around the Mountain Shadows burn areas.

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