A7A2DB51887DA33E87258895005562F8 Hearing Summary CLICS/CLICS2022A/commsumm.nsf PUBLICBILL SUMMARY For WILDLAND FIRE INVESTIGATION ISSUESINTERIM COMMITTEE WILDFIRE MATTERS REVIEW COMMITTEEDate Aug 5, 2022 Location Old State Library 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.