Date: 08/24/2015

Final
Presentation by Division of Fire Prevention and Control

WILDFIRE MATTERS REVIEW COMMITTEE

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
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09:35 AM -- Presentation by Division of Fire Prevention and Control

Mr. Paul Cooke, Director of the Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) within the Department of Public Safety (DPS), introduced others from DFPC, DPS, and the Wildland and Prescribed Fire Advisory Committee (advisory committee) in attendance. Director Cooke spoke briefly about the members of the advisory committee and the role of the advisory committee. Director Cooke also spoke about current wildfire conditions and the implications of these conditions on the state. The nation is currently at national preparedness level five for wildland fire, which is the highest level of preparedness, meaning there is a scarcity of resources to fight wildland fires and all new fires in the state must be suppressed.

Director Cooke provided the committee with several handouts (Attachments A - C). The presentation slides Director Cooke discussed with the committee, along with referenced attachments, are provided in Attachment D.

150824 AttachA.pdf150824 AttachA.pdf150824 AttachB.pdf150824 AttachB.pdf150824 AttachC.pdf150824 AttachC.pdf150824 AttachD.pdf150824 AttachD.pdf

Director Cooke spoke about the need to provide wildland firefighters with greater training, proper protective equipment, and sufficient overhead supervision. Director Cooke also told the committee that wildland firefighters are often asked to "defend the indefensible," where homes are built in forested areas with little or no fire mitigation, and that this, along with the increasing number of large wildfires, the increasing intensity of these wildfires, and the growth and complexity of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) continue to present obstacles to protecting life and property.

Director Cooke also spoke about how Colorado is leading the nation in the way wildland fires are fought and several areas of interest for the committee to consider. Director Cooke spoke about the importance of fire mitigation, forest health, and creating resilient forests in addressing wildland fire issues, in addition to firefighters, fire engines, and airplanes. Director Cooke also discussed the need to encourage the federal government to expedite fuels treatment, focusing on areas of high burn probability, given the extensive federal land in the state. Director Cooke also spoke about the role of citizens in helping to develop fire adapted communities where all stakeholders take responsibility of and work collaboratively in managing the fire risk in the community. Director Cooke discussed his responsibility for overseeing the effectiveness of wildland fire suppression efforts while seeking to provide firefighter and public safety by increasing the use of technology and utilizing effective deployment strategies. Director Cooke spoke about how the number, intensity, growth, and complexity of wildfires in Colorado has increased dramatically since the 1970s, and how this trend is expected to continue. Director Cooke also spoke about the impact the increasing length of the wildfire season has on firefighting resources.

Director Cooke responded to questions from the committee about the responsibility of local and state firefighters to protect new structures built within WUI areas. Director Cooke responded by outlining the importance of homeowners and communities in WUI areas to create defensible space around structures, provide access for firefighters, have the ability to exit the community safely during a wildfire, build roadways with proper widths, provide water access, and build structures that are designed to withstand wildfire. The committee also discussed the impact of the lengthening wildfire season. The committee asked questions related to the role of DFPC in helping to find the balance between wildfire management for resource benefit and suppression. Director Cooke explained that wildfires in WUI areas must be suppressed due to the threat on local communities, and wildland fires may be managed in a variety of ways. Director Cooke discussed the role of the multi mission aircraft (MMA) in helping to provide local jurisdictions with information about a fire to help determine if a fire can be managed instead of being suppressed. Committee members asked Director Cooke about the usefulness of potential legislation that would set parameters to help determine under what circumstances a fire would not be suppressed. The committee also requested that Director Cooke provide information regarding the causes of wildfires each year, while Director Cooke explained that weather patterns explain most of the variation in the number of wildfires that occur each year.

Director Cooke continued with his presentation to the committee, which included a discussion of the new resources the state has available to help fight wildfires; an overview of the cooperative inter-agency system in place in the state to help fight wildfires, with the vast majority of fires in the state being managed at the local level; a description of how responsibility for fire suppression transfers between the local, county, state, and federal levels; an overview of the MMAs, the Colorado Wildfire Information Management System (CO-WIMS), and other firefighting resources the state has available; and a description of the various prescribed burn programs the state has.

Director Cooke responded to questions from the committee regarding the use of drones in wildfire detection, which the state decided against using at this time; how the MMAs are operated, how the MMAs are being used to help firefighting efforts in other states, and how the economics work when the MMAs are being used by local jurisdictions, other states, or on federal land; and details related to the prescribed burns.

10:29 AM

Ms. Melissa Lineberger, Director of the Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting (CoE), provided the committee with an overview of the history and role of the CoE. Director Lineberger discussed the types of projects the CoE will be working on and the approval process for these projects. Director Lineberger also spoke about the CoE's goals and what they hope to accomplish in the future. Director Lineberger discussed the Colorado Disaster Prediction and Decision Support System that was created by House Bill 15-1120.

Director Lineberger responded to questions from the committee regarding the federal response to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published in 2013, which includes an aerial firefighting use effectiveness study currently being set up by the US Forest Service. Director Cooke responded to committee questions regarding the current number of large air tankers the federal government has under contract. Director Lineberger also responded to committee questions regarding how the CoE plans to incorporate ground firefighting resources into its work, the CoE's goals related to its vision statement, what the CoE has been able to accomplish thus far, and whether the CoE has looked into satellite wildfire detection technology.

11:00 AM

Director Cooke continued with the presentation and a discussion concerning program funding sources. Director Cooke responded to questions from the committee regarding the funding for the Wildfire Preparedness Fund from a portion of insurance premium taxes. The committee requested additional information on when the decision was made to fund the Wildfire Preparedness Fund with these taxes and how much in insurance premium taxes is collected by the state. The committee also asked to hear from the advisory committee to understand their recommendations at a future meeting. The committee also requested that the advisory committee discuss with the committee the potential for setting a statewide standard for what defensible space is, and how mitigation standards currently differ between insurance companies and local fire departments, which can cause confusion to homeowners.