State conference will look at real costs of fighting wildfires

GRAND JUNCTION I A host of wildland fire experts and local, state and federal fire managers will discuss the true cost of wildfire in Colorado communities at the Colorado Wildland Fire Conference, set for April 16-17 in Glenwood Springs.
“The goal of the conference is to educate participants about the issues related to wildfire risk and the impacts to our communities,” said Doug Paul, fire education and mitigation specialist with the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit.
Peter Brown, director of Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, will present the keynote address “Fire Ecology and Fires of the Future.” Other sessions include an overview of wildland fire in Colorado, implications of wildfires to taxpayers and policy makers, a panel discussion of real-world fire costs in Colorado, and a panel discussion of fire-adapted communities.
The conference is being sponsored by the emergency managers from Eagle, Summit, Pitkin, Garfield and Mesa counties as well as Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Colorado State Forest Service, Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management and the Southern Rockies Fire Science Network.
“The conference is geared toward community leaders, local government, elected officials and professional planners, but anyone is welcome to attend,” Paul said.
Registration and additional information is available at www.wildfire-colorado.com.