DENVER – Colorado will become the first state in the nation to implement “revolutionary” technology that predicts the direction and intensity of wildfires.
Sitting outside a fire station in Arvada, Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday signed legislation that secures $600,000 to launch the program, which uses advanced weather forecasting to recognize that disasters unfold as they relate to the atmosphere.
Back in March, Hickenlooper seemed cautious about the program, suggesting that he didn’t want the state to spend money on a “fool’s errand.” But the governor said Wednesday that after meeting with the scientists behind the technology, he became confident that it could save lives and property.
“It’s going to take a couple years, this is not a one-year investment, but this is something we recognize is going to be a benefit,” Hickenlooper said. “I’m convinced. Is it 100 percent sure it’s going to work? Nothing’s ever 100 percent.”
The bipartisan bill was sponsored by Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, and Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp, D-Arvada.
Kraft-Tharp said the technology “is not evolutionary, it’s revolutionary.” It was created over 20 years by researchers led by the Boulder-based National Center for Atmospheric Research.
“It really moves us into a whole new level of being able to predict the intensity and direction of fires,” Kraft-Tharp said.
Responders are expected to have access to a coupled weather-wildland fire model, including wind changes, temperature shifts and gust fronts from clouds. Scientists say the system could give responders as much as 12 hours notice – critical time when a wildfire breaks out.
Sponsors had hoped to include a flood portion in the bill, because the technology also is able to map the direction and intensity of floods. But facing budget constraints, the bill was scaled back from its original plan, which would have provided $10 million over five years for both fire and flood technology.
pmarcus@durangoherald.com