Glenwood Springs—Now that fire restrictions have been lifted in Garfield, Eagle and Pitkin County along with BLM and Forest Service lands, it’s time to think about wildfire prevention. Western Slope Congressman Scott Tipton says it’s also a good opportunity to discuss ways to redirect billions of dollars that are burned up every year fighting fires. Tipton says last year, over 2 billion dollars that was intended for forest management had to be taken out of the forest service’s general budget for fire suppression efforts. Tipton says he supported a decision to put an end to so-called “fire borrowing” through the Healthy Forest Management and Wildfire Act. He says it provides funds to clear out fuels around power lines and critical infrastructure. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, for the year to date, over 46,000 wildfires have scorched nearly 7 million acres. That includes eight fires in Colorado that have burned over 162,000 acres.
