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$30 Million Worth Of Bills Aimed At Wildfire Mitigation, Ken Caryl Neighborhood Leads the Way

DENVER (CBS4) - Wildfire prevention is a top issue at the Colorado State Capitol. There are already ten bills totaling more than $30 million for prevention and suppression efforts.

While most of the bills were written before the Marshall Fire, the fire has been a wake-up call not only for lawmakers, but homeowners in many neighborhoods across the Denver metro area.

"First thing we want to do is protect homes and lives from wildfire," Tim Berg said at a neighborhood meeting Sunday afternoon in Ken Caryl Valley.

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West Metro Fire Rescue joined neighbors as they mapped-out a community-wide mitigation plan. For ten years, Berg has been sounding the alarm about wildfire prevention, but he says no one would listen until five weeks ago.

Now, 300 neighbors have joined his volunteer army on a mission to mitigate the risk of a major fire in their community.

"We want do at least 50% reduction on our vulnerability from wildfires this year," said Berg.

He says the mitigation includes cutting trees and bushes close to homes, creating a ten foot barrier between open space and backyards, and installing landscaping less susceptible to fire.

Not only are homes at stake, Berg says, but an archeological site of national significance.

"The history of this site right where we're standing dates back 7,000 years. We do not want to be last generation, the generation that let's go up in smoke."

He has an ally in State Rep. Lisa Cutter, who chaired a legislative committee that met most of last year to come up with a statewide mitigation strategy. Cutter's district includes Evergreen and Conifer, which are among the top ten places in the country at risk of property loss from wildfire.

"That's where I was really focused. I was thinking those communities were at risk, and so to have that happen in Boulder was just a huge shock," said Cutter.

She's carrying four of the ten wildfire bills introduced this legislative session. Among them is a bill to provide tax credits to homeowners who create defensible space.

"We want to provide some relief to people who are doing the right thing and protecting themselves and their neighbors."

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Another bill would provide matching grants to local governments that do mitigation.

"If you're a local government, it's important that you have some skin in the game too. That you're a partner in this effort."

Fire suppression is also a focus of lawmakers. There are bills to install remote cameras with live feeds for early detection and provide more equipment training and pay for volunteer firefighters.

There's also legislation to create an aggressive state campaign to educate Coloradans about wildfire risk and prevention.

Berg and his neighbors are a step ahead.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. Our group is an action group, and we're going to get out and get it done this year."

Nearly 3 million Coloradans now live now in wildfire-prone areas. While fire mitigation is expensive, fire recovery is more so. The Division of Insurance says losses in the 2020 East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires alone totaled about $500 million.

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