Polis Talks Climate Preparedness Ahead of Wildfire Season

DENVER, CO — Gov. Jared Polis, Senate President Steve Fenberg, Congressman Joe Neguse and state and local officials discussed Colorado's climate preparedness and unveiled new legislation at a news conference Friday — as wildfire season, which has become more year-round than ever before, approaches.

In the past week, Colorado has experienced a wildfire in Monte Vista near Longmont, the Duck Pond Fire between Gypsum and Dotsero, and the Fort Lyon and Verdemont fires in Custer Counter, according to a news release.

In the past two years alone, the state has experienced the four biggest and most destructive wildfires in its history.

"Colorado could very well be headed towards the worst wildfire season in the state’s history," Fenberg said. "We need to take action, which is why we are providing immediate support to communities rebuilding and recovering from wildfires, improving our ability to respond to the types of catastrophic wildfires we’ve seen in recent years, preparing for future disasters that may be just around the corner."

The bill that was featured would provide relief for victims of wildfires while also investing $15 million in communities and fire responders to prevent small fires from becoming devastating, the news release said. A component of the investment would increase the state's aerial capabilities, extend and expand its contract on the Large Air Tanker during wildfire season, and add two Type 1 helicopters, the largest and fastest helicopters used to respond to wildfires, to the state's arsenal.

Part of the investment would provide for an improved dispatch system to enable different localities to work together to respond more quickly and cohesively to wildfires, according to the news release.

The bill would also establish an Office of Climate Preparedness. The goal of the office would be to coordinate "focused attention" across the government on disaster recovery and climate adaptation.

"We are vastly improving our year-round fire response, expanding our arsenal of world-class firefighting tools and continuing to activate every tool we have to help our communities prepare for and respond to the threat of wildfires and climate change," Polis said.