CLICS/CLICS2024A/commsumm.nsf
PUBLIC
BILL SUMMARY For PRESENTATION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
INTERIM COMMITTEE WILDFIRE MATTERS REVIEW COMMITTEE
Date Jul 2, 2024
Location Old State Library
Presentation from the Department of Public Health and Environment - Committee Discussion Only
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10:49:43 AM |
The committee came
back to order.
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10:51:19 AM |
Scott Landes, Kristen
Good, and Kristy Richardson, representing the Department of Public Health
and Environment (CDPHE), presented to the committee and a copy of the presentation
was provided to the committee (Attachment F). Ms. Richardson discussed
health concerns from wildfire, such as difficulty breathing and risks of
heart attacks. She discussed damages to infrastructure that can have health
impacts, including the contents of the ash and burned materials.
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11:00:31 AM |
Mr. Landes discussed
the Meteorology and Prescribed Fire Unit in CDPHE. He discussed the activities
of the unit, including statewide year-round forecasting and advisories.
He reviewed data related to air quality health advisories and how the advisories
are disseminated to the public. Mr. Landes discussed the Colorado Smoke
Blog that is being released soon to communicate with the public about smoke
advisory information.
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11:13:07 AM |
Mr. Landes reviewed information about the Smoke Management Program, including open burning permits and smoke management permits. He reviewed information about standard permit and non-standard permits. Mr. Landes discused the prescribed fire mapping tool that will be released soon and provides information where permits have been authorized.
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11:18:42 AM |
Ms. Good presented
information about wildfire smoke preparedness in community buildings. She
discussed a federal grant CDPHE received that focuses on reducing adverse
impact of wildfire smoke on indoor air quality. Ms. Good stated that the
goal of the grant is to support and facilitate community smoke preparedness
planning efforts through education and training.
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11:23:47 AM |
Ms. Good reviewed
the objectives of the Wildfire Smoke Preparedness Program, including developing
a Colorado Stakeholder Education and Training Network and training for
K-12 school to be wildfire smoke ready. She discussed how CDPHE will be
engaging stakeholders and disseminating education resources about the program.
Ms. Good explained how indoor air quality is often a reflection of outdoor
air quality. She discussed how the program helps stakeholders identify
suitable community-serving buildings to serve as clean air centers.
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11:31:23 AM |
Ms. Good further
discussed how CDPHE will provide training to K-12 schools to serve as Sentinel
Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Sites and Community Clean Air Centers. She
stated that the program has distributed 35,000 HEPA portable air cleaners
to 550 K-12 schools.
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11:36:21 AM |
Ms. Good, Mr. Landes,
and Ms. Richardson responded to questions from the committee about information
provided in the presentation. The panelists continued to respond to questions
from the committee about prescribed fires and how CDPHE will be notifying
people about the various communication tools that are being launched soon.
The committee discussed prior legislation related to behavioral and physical
health impacts of wildfires.
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