Preparing Our Homes for Wildfire Season

Statement

Dear Fellow Coloradan,

Colorado has repeatedly broken the "most destructive fire in state history" record over the last several years, from the High Park and Waldo Canyon fires of 2012 to the Black Forest Fire of 2013. This cycle of increasingly destructive fires has made it clear that the question is not if, but when, we'll have another catastrophic mega-fire.

Our state's persistent drought and unhealthy forests, combined with the harmful effects of climate change, ensure that we are one lightning strike, errant cigarette butt or arsonist's match away from another record wildfire season. And with roughly 40 percent of Coloradans living in the "wildland urban interface" (WUI) -- the fire-prone areas where human development is close to or within natural terrain and flammable trees and brush -- the risk for our communities will only continue to grow.

Wildfires are a natural phenomenon, but we can -- and must -- get ahead of the curve. From the U.S. Forest Service down to local homeowners, everyone has a role to prevent wildfires. And that's why I'm fighting for common-sense policies that help protect Colorado communities from the threat of wildfire, from safeguarding critical wildfire mitigation projects to helping the U.S. Forest Service acquire new air tankers to better contain blazes.

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