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I_WMRC_2022A 08/05/2022 09:07:03 AM Committee Summary

PUBLIC
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING
INTERIM COMMITTEE  WILDFIRE MATTERS REVIEW COMMITTEE
Date 08/05/2022
Attendance
Coram X
Cutter E
Jaquez Lewis X
Lynch X
Simpson X
Snyder X
Story *
Will X
Valdez D. *
Ginal X
Time 09:07:03 AM to 12:01:29 PM
Place Old State Library
This Meeting was called to order by Ginal
This Report was prepared by Anne Wallace
Hearing Items Action Taken
Colorado Forest Health Council Recommendations Committee Discussion Only
Wildland Fire Investigation Issues Committee Discussion Only
Wildfire Impacts to Domestic Animals and Wildlife Committee Discussion Only
Wildfire State Agency Spending Update Committee Discussion Only
Summer Camps and Wildfire Challenges Committee Discussion Only
Earth Force Technologies Overview Committee Discussion Only
Single Engine Air Tanker Perspective Committee Discussion Only
Public Testimony Committee Discussion Only

09:07:06 AM
Chair of the committee, Senator Ginal, gave opening remarks.



Colorado Forest Health Council Recommendations - Committee Discussion Only


09:08:33 AM  
Larimer County Commissioner,
Jody Shadduck-McNally, introduced herself as the chair of the the Colorado
Forest Health Council. Matt McCombs, Director and State Forester, Colorado
State Forest Service also presented on behalf of the Forest Health Council.
09:10:34 AM  
Commissioner Shadduck-McNally and Director
McCombs gave a presentation on their five legislative recommendations from
the Colorado Forest Health Council. Their recommendations involved expanding
forestry education, workforce development programs, investments in Good
Neighbor Authority, local and state agency planning and project management
capacity, and creative incentives for private industry. Their presentation
can be found here:
https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/committees/1._colorado_forest_council_presentation.pdf.
Recommendations made to the committee can be found here:
https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/forest_health_council_recommendations.pdf.
09:13:21 AM  
Commissioner Shadduck-McNally
and Director McCombs answered questions from the committee regarding higher
education efforts, programs within higher education, using inmates for
fire mitigation, funding, Good Neighbor Authority, project management capacity,
and incentives around grazing issues.



Wildland Fire Investigation Issues - Committee Discussion Only


09:32:41 AM  
Justin Whitesell,
Emergency Operations Manager, Larimer County Sheriff Office, Justin Atwood,
Investigator, Larimer County Sheriff's Office, and Vaughn Jones, Chief
of Wildland Fire Management Section, Division of Fire Prevention and Control
introduced themselves and gave a presentation on wildland fire investigations.
Mr. Whitesell gave an overview of local responsibilities, fire investigations
in other states, and challenges.
09:41:05 AM  
Mr. Whitesell and
Chief Jones answered questions about Senate Bill 22-080, percentage of
fires that are investigated, determining factors for what needs to be investigated,
and percentage of fires that are human caused.
09:50:35 AM  
Mr. Atwood gave a
an overview of his experience investigating fires and the complications
involved in fire investigation, and cross-training that has been useful
to help cohesiveness across departments.
09:54:55 AM  
Chief Jones talked
about the thousands of wildfires that Colorado sees annually, the success
in 2022 with minimal large fires, supporting local agencies, use of an
arson dog, the needs in departments of varying sizes, and Fire Commission
recommendation 21-03. The following handout was given to the committee:
https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/fire_investigations_handout.pdf.
09:59:35 AM  
The committee asked
questions regarding Senate Bill 22-080. Chief Jones responded, emphasizing
cause and origin, investigative and law enforcement, and prosecution being
incuded in legislation regarding investigation. Mr. Whitesell added information
on training.



Wildfire Impacts to Domestic Animals and Wildlife - Committee Discussion Only


10:05:40 AM  
Dr. Maggie Bladwin,
State Veterinarian, Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA), introduced
herself and gave a presentation that can be found here:
https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/committees/2._wildfire_impacts_to_domestic_animals.pdf.
10:06:55 AM  
Dr. Baldwin gave
a brief overview of the current local animal response, state response from
the CDA, the new role in CDA for agriculture emergency coordinator, livestock
and companion animals, state support for local efforts, communication and
coordination, state resource needs, and the complications of multi-jurisdiction
scenarios.
10:15:52 AM  
Dr. Baldwin went
into more detail about the new CDA Agriculture Emergency Coordinator position
and their duties. Additionally, Dr. Baldwin detailed recommendations to
be better prepared for wildfire. These recommendations include community
educational events, regional census for animals, prep4agthreats.org, and
applying lessons learned.
10:19:46 AM  
 Dr. Baldwin
responded to questions about cattle and other livestock evacuation during
a fire.



Wildfire State Agency Spending Update - Committee Discussion Only


10:29:02 AM  
Christina Van Winkle,
Legislative Committee Staff, gave a presentation on wildfire state agency
spending. The presentation can be found here:
https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/committees/3._co_wildfire_related_state_spending.pdf.
10:30:45 AM  
Ms. Van Winkle's
presentation provided detailed funding information for Colorado's primary
agencies responsible for wildfire-related activities in the state, a history
of wildfire in Colorado, wildfire spending categories, spending by fund
source, and spending by frequency.
10:40:36 AM  
Ms. Van Winkle answered
committee questions on the inclusion of mitigation expenses that have been
spent and the breakdown of spending towards aviation.



Summer Camps and Wildfire Challenges - Committee Discussion Only


10:43:12 AM  
Jane Sandborn, Colorado
Comps Network, gave a remote presentation on the implications of wildfire
on summer camps. Ms. Sandborn brought two campers, Liza Belzley and Ione
Cafaro, to share their experience. Jeff Cheeley, Colorado Camps Network,
gave additional details on the issues camps are facing including an increase
in insurance costs and a decrease in coverage, increasing deductibles,
the impacts camps have on children, and camp wildfire mitigation efforts.
10:57:23 AM  
Recommendations were made regarding helping keep insurance reasonable and continuing to recognize the value camp gives to children.
10:58:15 AM  
Mr. Cheeley and Ms.
Sandborn answered questions on insurance costs from the committee.



Earth Force Technologies Overview - Committee Discussion Only


11:01:59 AM  
Justin Dawes, Earth Force Technologies,
gave a presentation, including a video on Earth Force Technologies. The
presentation can be found here:
https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/committees/4._earthforce_presentation.pdf.
11:03:39 AM  
Mr. Dawes gave an overview of the impacts
technology has to promote safety, transparency, scalability, and reduce
costs. He gave an overview of his team, their use of remote and teleoperations
and artificial intelligence, benefits of remote operations, workforce development,
recruiting, scalable training, operator support, expert intervention, and
burst capacity. Mr. Dawes described the Earth Force Foundation, and possible
cooperation with the state.
11:13:13 AM  
Mr. Dawes answered questions from the committee
on employee compensation and sustainability, the cost of projects, and
thinning the forest for mitigation efforts, compared to other methods.
11:19:29 AM  
Senator Coram commented
about the cost per acre to mitigate and efforts being made in Colorado.
Mr. Dawes responded.



Single Engine Air Tanker Perspective - Committee Discussion Only


11:24:51 AM  
Kyle Scott with the
Colorado Fire Aviation gave a presentation on single engine air tanker
firefighting capabilities. The presentation can be found here:
https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/committees/5._colorado_fire_aviation.pdf.
11:26:07 AM  
Mr. Scott gave an
overview of Colorado Fire Aviation, Gold Aero, and Scott Aviation. The
presentation included several visual aids, information on how frequently
these aircraft are needed, financial comparisons of different aircraft,
videos of aircrafts in use, training and simulation programs, and the future
of single enginge tankers in Colorado.
11:38:41 AM  
Mr. Scott answered questions from the committee
on the capacity of these aircraft drops, the cost of certain aircrafts,
auxiliary fleets, contracts with Colorado and the Bureau of Land Management,
and availability in Colorado. Mr. Scott gave more information on the mobility
these aircraf have and the water or gel retardant used.
11:48:11 AM  
Mr. Scott answered
questions regarding the aircraft Colorado has access to during bad widfire
years, heaviest capacity aircrafts, and float lanes in reservoirs.  



Public Testimony - Committee Discussion Only


11:53:09 AM  
Dr. Ron Larson, representing himself, gave remote testimony.



11:59:52 AM
Senator Ginal gave
final remarks and reminded the committee of upcoming meetings. Committee
members commented. Representative D. Valdez, Vice Chair, gave comments
to the committee before adjournment.


12:01:29 PM   The committee adjourned.






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