I_WMRC_2024A 07/30/2024 09:08:30 AM Committee Summary

PUBLIC
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING
INTERIM COMMITTEE WILDFIRE MATTERS REVIEW COMMITTEE

Date

07/30/2024

Time

09:08:30 AM to 03:09:30 PM

Place

Old State Library

This Meeting was called to order by

Cutter

This Report was prepared by

Samantha Falco

Hearing Items	Action Taken
hPresentation from the Mental Health Trust Board	Committee Discussion Only
hPresentation from Garfield County 911	Committee Discussion Only
hPresentation from the Colorado Tourism Board	Committee Discussion Only
hPresentation from the Colorado State Forest Service	Committee Discussion Only
hPresentation from the Nature Conservancy	Committee Discussion Only
hPresentation from Western Resources Advocates	Committee Discussion Only
hLunch	Committee Discussion Only
hPresentation from the Center of Excellence	Committee Discussion Only
hPresentation from the Center for Improving Value in Health Care	Committee Discussion Only
hPresentation from Fire Adapted Colorado	Committee Discussion Only

Presentation from the Mental Health Trust Board - Committee Discussion Only


	09:09:25 AM	Chief John Wilson, Lousville Fire District; Joseph DePaepe, Trust Administrator; and Paula Lowder, Claims Consultant, shared information on the Behavioral Health Program Operational Summary regarding the Colorado Firefighter Heart, Cancer, and Behavioral Health Trust that was funded through SB22-002. The summary can be found here: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/mental_health_trust_board.pdf
	09:19:50 AM	The presentation included on the impact of the trust, the claims processes, and the growth of the fund.
	09:37:39 AM	The committee asked questions about the funding, future appropriations, and anonymity of the program. Dianne Criswell, General Counsel of the Trust gave information to the committee on future appropriations.


	09:40:26 AM	Carl Stephens, Director, Garfield County 911, gave a presentation on the Garfield County 911 Center. The presentation included information on the efforts being made for language access, success in maintaining staffing, misuse of the 911 system, and policy surrounding 911 operations.
	09:47:50 AM	The committee thanked the county for their efforts.


	09:53:31 AM	Tim Wolfe, Director, Colorodo Tourism Office gave the following presentation to the committee: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/colorado_tourism_office.pdf
	10:02:58 AM	The presentation included information on efforts made though various social media and outreach campaigns, crisis communications plans, crisis recovery support, the Welcome Center Program, and their weekly newsletter.
	10:11:03 AM	The committee commended the Tourism Office's efforts regarding wildfire outreach. The committee asked questions regarding campaigns and different partners, how communities become a destination marketing organization, and the impacts of smoke.


	10:27:13 AM	Christina Burri, Deputy Director, and Amanda West Fordham, Associate Director Science and Data Division, with the Colorado State Forest Service gave the following presentation: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/adaptive_management_in_colorado_0.pdf
	10:28:45 AM	The presentation included information on adaptive forest types in Colorado, treatment effectiveness, monitoring forest treatments, monitoring technologies, the statewide forest carbon inventory, regional differences, and forest health monitoring.
	11:04:45 AM	The committee asked the presenters questions regarding the effectiveness of forest thinning, outreach to other organizations, technology being used to measure and monitor fuel loads, and the Larimer County fireshed program.


	11:23:25 AM	Rob Addington, Director of the Forest and Fire Program, and Parker Titus, Prescribed Fire Crew Supervisor, with the Nature Conservancy Colorado gave the following presentation: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/forest_health_and_th....
	11:28:37 AM	The presentation gave an overview of Colorado's forests, a review of different wildfires, longterm impacts, loss of forest acreage burned annually by wildfire in Colorado, thinning, and prescribed fire. Mr. Titus went into further detail about prescribed fires as a wildfire mitigation practice, the benefits to ecology and people, the impacts of mitigation, and successes of prescribed fires.


	11:54:36 AM	Rebecca Samulski, Executive Director, Fire Adapted Colorado, and Brendan Will, Policy Advisor, Western Resource Advocates, continued the joint presentation with the Nature Conservancy on behalf of Western Resource Advocates. The presentation is a continuation of the Power Point provided by the Nature Conservancy.
	11:57:14 AM	The presentation included information on the Flume Creek prescribed burn, issues with enabling prescribed fire use, regulatory, funding, liability, training, and capacity barriers, and recommendations.
	12:12:32 PM	The committee asked questions regarding notifying prescribed fires on private land, regulation of prescribed fires, incentivising prescribed burning, and local control of prescribed fires.


	12:28:36 PM	The committee recessed for lunch.


	01:34:27 PM	Ben Miller, Director, Center of Excellence gave the following presentation to the committee: https://coleg.box.com/s/t9p3l0tbddktlrndzota0x8gv9eq9sqk
	01:37:10 PM	The presentation included an overview of the Center of Excellence, the Colorado Team Awareness Kit (CoTAK), and other work the Center of Excellence is doing.
	02:03:30 PM	The committee thanked the Center of Excellence for their work.


	02:14:07 PM	Cari Frank and Clare Leather with the Center for improving Value in Health Care gave a presentation regarding wildfire and ozone impact on health. The presentation given to the committee can be found here: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/civhc-wildfire_and_ozone_presentation.pdf The report mentioned to the committee can be found here: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/civhc-wildfire_and_ozone_impact_on_health_data_set_0.xlsx


	03:02:02 PM	Rebecca Samulski, Executive Director, Fire Adapted Colorado came back to the dais to present on behalf of Fire Adapted Colorado. The following is the presentation given to the committee: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/fire_adapted_colorado.pdf
	03:04:46 PM	The committee asked questions regarding modeling, constructing new homes, and insurance companies.

03:07:37 PM

The committee discussed future meetings.

03:09:30 PM

The committee adjourned.