Devastating 2020 wildfire season inspires listening and legislation

No one wants to go through another fire season like 2020 with months of dangerous air quality, eerie smoke, raining ash and tragic losses of homes, forest land and wildlife. That's why Rep. Joe Neguse of Boulder County convened a listening session to hear from Colorado residents about their wildfire experiences and what would help prevent and mitigate wildfires.

More than 800 people joined last week's video call with several sharing heartbreaking stories of losing their homes to the flames.

Courtney Walsh's house burned to the ground in the CalWood Fire in Boulder County. She said that she and her kids had 10 minutes to evacuate, corralling their two bunnies, dog and grabbing family art and photos, "We're just sad, thankful for our lives, but sad."

The pain of that loss continues in a new form today as her family fights for reimbursement. "The insurance battle has been absolutely terrible. I don't wish it upon anyone," Walsh said. Several other participants shared similar frustrations.

Along with her challenges with insurance, Walsh said firefighters could use more support and resources to not only fight fires, but prevent them. She would also like to see real-time communication updates about the status of a wildfire, though she isn't sure what that would look like.

The listening session also included Colorado's heavy political hitters, Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. John Hickenlooper, Gov. Jared Polis and Executive Director of Colorado Public Safety, Stan Hilkey. It began with Neguse reminding Coloradoans of the devastating 2020 fire season that included three of the five largest wildfires in Colorado history, two of which were in his district.

The Cameron Peak Fire that started west of Ft. Collins burned more than 208,000 acres and the East Troublesome Fire started in Grand County and crossed the ridge into Rocky Mountain National Park as it burned more than 192,000 acres.

In Boulder County, the CalWood Fire burned more than 10,000 acres. It was the largest in recent county history and destroyed more than 20 homes. The Lefthand Canyon Fire burned nearly 500 acres.

Sen. Bennet said a combination of 100 years of fire suppression, climate change and underfunding of the U.S. Forest Service has led to an increase in the threat of wildfires. He said there needs to be a major shift in attitude and priorities by the federal government.

Bennet talked about legislation he has proposed to support restoration of forests, watersheds and wildlife habitat. The $60 billion Outdoor Restoration Force Act would provide $20 billion for projects generated at the state and local level. Bennet said it would create two million new jobs, potentially for those transitioning away from fossil fuel industries. He recognizes it's a lot of money. "The cost of doing nothing is going to be much greater," Bennet said.

The listening session was part of a big week for Neguse on conservation issues. He launched the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus along Congressman John Curtis, a Utah Republican. The caucus seeks to elevate awareness and bipartisan consensus around wildfire mitigation, preparedness and recovery.

The first legislative action taken by Neguse and Curtis was to propose The Wildfire Recovery Act. It would increase resources for communities rebuilding from wildfire damage through federal cost sharing of Fire Management Assistance Grants.

Last week, Nuguse was elected as Chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. He also reintroduced legislation to create a 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps. It would hire and train a workforce to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, catch up on deferred maintenance and expand recreation on public lands.