House Passes Bill to Continue Wildfire Prevention Awareness

DENVER, CO – The House today passed legislation to expand wildfire prevention efforts through community education. HB24-1024, sponsored by Representatives Tammy Story and Elizabeth Velasco, passed by a vote of 49-13.

“Many Colorado communities are in wildfire-prone areas, but the Marshall Fire tragedy taught us that we must be prepared for the worst because wildfires can quickly spread into our neighborhoods,” said Rep. Tammy Story, D-Conifer. “With this legislation, we’re extending the great work that the Colorado State Forest Service has done to educate Coloradans on wildfire risk and mitigation strategies so we can continue to protect our communities from wildfires.”

“Colorado has experienced devastating wildfires in the last few years that have burned down homes, businesses, and our beautiful outdoors,” said Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs. “Western Slope communities, like mine, are especially vulnerable to wildfires. The Colorado State Forest Service has done a great job providing outreach and educational materials, including bilingual materials for our non-English speaking Coloradans, to promote wildfire prevention and mitigation information. This bill would extend CSFS’s wildfire outreach campaign so we can continue efforts that will make our communities more wildfire-resilient.”

HB24-1024 would require the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) to continue its enhanced wildfire outreach campaign through 2027, as well as other outreach efforts that increase awareness of wildfire risk mitigation in the wildland-urban interface.

This bill builds on a 2022 law, also sponsored by Representative Story, that directed CSFS to create a working group and implement an enhanced wildfire awareness month outreach campaign for 2023 and 2024.