Rep. Joe Neguse hosts wildfire summit with Colorado governor, senator

A day after county and state officials met to discuss the road to recovery after the Cameron Peak Fire, Larimer County’s congressional representative Joe Neguse held a wildfire summit with Gov. Jared Polis, Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. John Hickenlooper and Colorado Department of Public Safety Executive Director Stan Hilkey on the ways, from a governmental level, the issue of wildfires can be addressed in the future.

Neguse has spoken before about what he hopes for recovery in the county, both directly for the county and at the federal level. Neguse, with Republican representative John Curtis from Utah, has also launched the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus, aimed at elevating awareness and bipartisan consensus around wildfire management and mitigation as well as preparedness and recovery.

As part of this recovery and plan forward, Neguse scheduled Thursday’s summit to let Coloradans hear from their elected representatives and vice versa, allowing the community to ask questions and share their stories.

“Wildfires are a complex issue for our communities, and there really is no silver bullet,” Neguse said, adding that is why conversations like Thursdays are important.

“All of us stand ready to help however we can,” Bennet said. “We are working as a delegation to get more resources for Colorado to recover.”

Bennet mentioned how the state is hoping to receive continued Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, something that Lori Hodges, emergency management director, spoke about with Larimer County commissioners in early February.

Bennet added trying to prevent wildfires should be a major focus not only for counties but for representatives at the state and federal levels. Included in this is Bennet’s proposed Outdoor Restoration Force Act, which would establish a $60 billion outdoor restoration fund to increase money available for restoration and resiliency projects across the country.

“Forests are our infrastructure,” Bennet said. “They are as important to our state’s economy as the Lincoln Tunnel is for New York.”

Hickenlooper said that while “our weather continues to get less and less predictable,” one thing that can be predicted is that climate change will lead to more serious weather events and longer-lasting droughts that can impact how wildfires are started and move.

“As you build back, you have to build back better than it was before to make sure you are ready for the next wildfire,” Hickenlooper said.

Polis, as well as all other panel members, thanked the heroism of those who had been directly involved in fighting the fire, including the firefighters, fire marshals, sheriff’s office and others.

“Very few things are harder as a governor than when I met with people who had been evacuated from the CPF and just simply the not knowing,” Polis said.

Polis added he has been working with the state legislature to increase and implement funding for fire prevention, mitigation and other fire fighting resources.

Community members who called into the meeting were able to share their stories and ask questions about moving forward. Several people told the story of losing their homes and others sought ideas on where to go next.

Among the concerns were issues of insurance as people try to rebuild, future preventative measures so more fires don’t spread like Cameron Peak and work beyond mitigation.

In closing statements, Polis thanked Neguse for putting together the summit and continuing to keep the loop between the state and federal levels connected to address problems like this.

“This is truly a national issue,” Polis said. “Yes it is even greater in the West … but this is a nationally coordinated effort. We need that national effort.”

Hickenlooper said as representatives search for ways to address wildfire recovery and mitigation, climate change must be at the front of all discussions.

Bennet said the state has a good team to address these problems, but they are only as good as the input the community gives their representatives.

“When you stand in a forest … that has been treated the way it ought to be treated … it is like standing in a cathedral,” Bennet said. “That could be our legacy if we pull together and do the work that need to be done.”