DENVER - Today, Governor Jared Polis signed an Executive Order declaring a disaster emergency in Colorado due to critical fire weather conditions and record-level fire indices that are fueling multiple fires and continued fire risk across Colorado to further support the state’s early attack on new fire starts.
“Colorado is facing several major wildfires, and our firefighters are stepping up to protect our communities. I’m so proud of our firefighters, and how our state and local governments are working closely together to protect people, property and livestock, and keep Colorado open for business despite the challenging fire season. We are actively supporting fire detection and suppression efforts on multiple fronts. This new action will bolster our ability to jump on fires early in partnership with local communities, and will help ensure the state, in partnership with local communities, has the resources necessary to combat wildfires this season,” said Governor Jared Polis.
The Executive Order, which is not specific to any one fire but instead overlays the State’s overall fire response, bolsters existing Executive Orders and efforts to address fires early, and supports the Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) to continue its practice of initial aggressive attack in the early stages of developing fires, working with local agencies to provide prepositioning of resources prior to fires occurring or when they are first detected, with overhead support, aviation, handcrews, modules, engines, and other assets eligible for Wildfire Emergency Response Funding pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-33.5-1226.
This executive action also authorizes – but does not deploy – the use of the Colorado National Guard for fire response as requested by the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
This Executive Order responsibly allocates emergency funding in the amount of $2.5 million into the Wildfire Emergency Response Fund (WERF). Just over one month into the fiscal year, $1.5 million of the $1.7 million allocated has been expended due to historic fire activity and the increased need for State support to local agencies under the current wildfire conditions. These authorities and additional WERF funding will allow DFPC to continue providing support and resources to local fire departments and counties to keep fires from growing larger and more costly for State and local governments, minimizing the displacement of people and damage to property.
This Executive Order will not replace individual Executive Orders for wildfires that exceed local capacity and become State Responsibility fires. The Executive Order’s purpose is to allow the Department of Public Safety and its Divisions to continue their program of early detection, aggressive initial attack, and supporting local agencies with resources and funding to keep fires from becoming large, lengthy, costly incidents that exceed local capacity and become State Responsibility incidents. It will serve to supplement State assistance funding already budgeted to ensure the State can continue to assist counties and fire departments when the need arises.
There are currently 2,395 personnel assigned to 9 large fires, which have burned more than 185,000 acres. There are currently a total of 24 uncontained fires across Colorado.
The firefighting efforts include 41 aircraft, including federal, State, National Guard, county and local assets, working on multiple fronts, including:
- 14 air tankers
- 14 T1 helicopters
- 6 T2 helicopters
- 6 T3 helicopters
- 1 MMA aircraft
Our own State agencies are contributing as well. The Division of Fire Prevention and Control, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Colorado State Patrol have all contributed more than 100 personnel and resources in the form of firefighters and engines, recovery and damage assessment teams, traffic control, and other resources.
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