I_WMRC_2022A 08/05/2022 09:07:03 AM Committee Summary PUBLICSTAFF SUMMARY OF MEETINGINTERIM 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 hColorado Forest Health Council Recommendations Committee Discussion Only hWildland Fire Investigation Issues Committee Discussion Only hWildfire Impacts to Domestic Animals and Wildlife Committee Discussion Only hWildfire State Agency Spending Update Committee Discussion Only hSummer Camps and Wildfire Challenges Committee Discussion Only hEarth Force Technologies Overview Committee Discussion Only hSingle Engine Air Tanker Perspective Committee Discussion Only hPublic 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.
