Colorado leaders share wildfire outlook and preparedness plan
View the latest Weather Alerts in Denver and across Colorado on FOX31
'In a normal wildfire season, we will see approximately 6,000 wildfires across the state of Colorado and burn 150-160,000 acres, so when we say normal, please, as Director Hilkey said and the governor said, don't let your guards down. We will have big fires,' said Division of Fire Prevention and Control Director Mike Morgan.
State leaders want communities to be ready for wildfires. Though they said the wildfire risk for this summer is average, they said average is still active. They said the state's Forest Service and Department of Natural Resources have invested $15 million in mitigation efforts already this year.
'The state's Forest Service has leaned hard into helping communities all across the state or establish their community wildfire protection plan, which gives everybody a clear sense of where the values and risks exist and what can we do to reduce that risk and be prepared when wildfires come,' said Colorado State Forest Service Director Matt McCombs.
Leaders did warn of heightened risks in April and May in the southeastern part of the state and an elevated risk in the southwestern part of the state in the summer. While they said the state is ready and to work with other agencies to put out fires, questions remain surrounding support and potential cuts from the federal government.
'We've made the effort to try to take our fate back. We have great federal partnerships that really couldn't exist without them. But also, we have endeavored to make sure that we have the capacity to respond without having to rely on shared resources with our all the other states that are under fire,' said Colorado Department of Public Safety Executive Director Stan Hilkey.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife looking for a few good camp hosts
'From our state perspective, we don't exactly know and I don't think the folks on our federal side know exactly what will happen and which positions will be eliminated. We are grateful thus far that law enforcement and firefighter positions have been exempt from cuts. We are grateful thus far that law enforcement and firefighter positions have been exempt from cuts. But a lot of positions that support those, the folks who might ticket people for doing illegal fireworks for example, folks doing roadwork and maintenance, those are some of the areas that have been subject to cutbacks,' Governor Jared Polis said.
The Forest Service said it is actively hiring an additional 220 firefighters to get ready for this season. The state's Bureau of Land Management leader said many of the cuts that happened in the forestry service have been restored. He said the remaining shortages are from recent retirements.
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