Congressmen Tipton, Lamborn: Is Forest Service prepared for Colorado fire season?
"When we're talking about being able to keep some of the firefighters safe, when you get into the rugged terrain in southwest
Instead, the
Tipton, R-
Christiansen told him the
"Large air tankers and aircraft are a very important wildfire response tool," Christiansen said. "But they alone don't put out the fires."
Firefighters on the ground also play an important role, she said.
"We work hard to find the right balance," Christiansen said.
In addition to protecting the environment, the
Tipton authored the Healthy Forest Management Act of 2015, which would have given forestry companies greater authority to trim forests and remove underbrush. In addition to creating forestry jobs, the bill sought to reduce potential fuel for wildfires.
Although the bill never won final approval in
Christiansen said overgrowth of the forests was contributing to the wildfires, particularly when beetles infest trees and leave them as dry wood ready to burn.
"In my simple terms, I call it a smorgasbord" for beetles, Christiansen said. With the current growth of forests, "We're overstocked," she said.
Until the mid-1990s, forestry companies harvested an average of 10-to-12 billion board feet of timber every year, according to a congressional report. By 2015, less than 2.9 billion board feet were harvested, largely because of complaints by environmentalists about stripping forests and removing habitat for wildlife.
At the same time, the number of wildfires increased. Last year, more than 8.5 million acres were burned by wildfires, the most since 2012.
Colorado
Christiansen disagreed the
"We don't always need 19,000 pounds of retardant," she said.
However, she also assured Lamborn the
About the same time the congressional subcommittee was meeting Thursday, firefighters were telling hundreds of residents around Hermosa to prepare for evacuation. More than 1,000 homes already were evacuated.
The week-old blaze, known as the 416 Fire, has burned about 8 square miles of land 10 miles north of
Despite use of air tankers, sprinkler systems and fire hoses, the wildfire is only a little more than 10 percent contained, according to officials.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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