Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed three executive orders last week related to wildland fire.
One executive order creates the Wildland and Prescribed Fire Advisory Committee. The Committee will advise the Director of the Division of Fire Prevention and Control on all matters pertaining to wildfire preparedness, response, suppression, coordination, or management and prescribed fire.
A second one partially lifts the ban on prescribed fires, which was implemented after the disastrous Lower North Fork prescribed fire southwest of Denver that escaped on March 26, 2012, burned 4,140 acres, and killed three local residents at their homes. The executive order only mentions that pile burning will be allowed, and does not specifically allow large-scale broadcast burning.
A third executive order establishes the Task Force on Wildfire Insurance and Forest Health which will examine how to best protect property and people within and adjacent to the wildland-urban interface.
The task force will review issues regarding insurance coverage at the 2012 fires including replacement costs for destroyed homes, relocation assistance, accounting for lost personal property and the timing of insurance benefits. It will explore how to provide better understanding of insurance coverage for policyholders. Also, it will explore insurance policies that promote forest health, reduce wildland fire threats and help incourage wise planning and stewardship while reducing the loss of life and property.
Until the State legislature’s focus is on increasing mitigation and suppression efforts, the task force will remain busy with compensation and insurance issues.