[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 125 (Thursday, July 30, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4359-S4360]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Colorado Wildfires

  Mr. HICKENLOOPER. Mr. President, June 27 was one of the worst days in 
recent Colorado history. As the Knowles fire rolled along the Colorado-
Utah border, the Rifle Helitack team put on their uniforms and rushed 
toward danger. While battling the blaze, one firefighter was badly 
injured and four others--Nick Hutcherson, Emily Barker, Sydney Watson, 
and Nathan Matthews--ultimately lost their lives.
  There is bravery--and then there is wildland firefighting. The word 
``hero'' gets used a lot. Nick, Emily, Sydney, and Nathan embodied that 
word.
  They came from across the country to Colorado to form a unit united 
by one common mission: protecting lives, protecting property, and the 
landscapes we all cherish.
  Their commitment to our public lands wasn't a hobby; it was their 
life's work. Together, they collectively spent decades fighting fires. 
And as dedicated as they were to their vocation, they were equally 
devoted to their friends and to their families, making this loss even 
more devastating.
  Our hearts break for these firefighters and their families and all 
who loved them. These families deserve answers, and we need to 
understand what went wrong so we can prevent future tragedies.
  That is why I am calling on the Department of the Interior to conduct 
a swift and thorough investigation into what happened, including 
whether the administration's recent shift to the Wildland Fire Service 
played any role in this event.
  This isn't about playing politics or gotcha, trying to find blame. 
With wildfires still raging across Colorado, we can't afford to wait 
months and months to learn lessons that could save lives right now.
  Colorado's firefighting community is close-knit. They are almost like 
an athletic team. The loss of one firefighter is felt by everyone. The 
loss of four is quite simply unimaginable. So we have to get to the 
bottom of what happened and do everything we can to make sure that we 
prevent a repeat tragedy.
  As we do that, we are also mourning the loss of Nicholas Dale of 
British Columbia. Nicholas was a helicopter pilot who was tragically 
killed while battling a fire near Ouray in southwest Colorado. Our 
thoughts and prayers are with his family as well.
  Last month, I traveled to the Snyder fire command post, and there I 
met with some of Nick, Emily, Sydney, and Nate's fellow firefighters 
and heard some of their stories. It brought me back to my time as 
Governor, standing with crews after a terrible tragedy. The heartbreak 
never gets easier; it only gets worse over time.
  And Colorado's wildfires keep getting worse too. In the 1990s, 
Colorado averaged 13 wildfires a year. By the 2020s, that number has 
climbed from 13 to 70 a year. And that is why I am here today--because 
we have a responsibility, all of us, regardless of politics, to prevent 
wildfires, to protect our communities, and to help people recover from 
disasters.
  We know we are not going to stop every wildfire, but we also know 
that many of the worst wildfires could have been less destructive if we 
had taken certain commonsense steps sooner, both from a shorter and a 
longer term perspective.
  First, we need to treat climate change like the emergency it is, and 
that is a long-term horizon but an important one. On a visit outside of 
Leadville earlier this year, one individual told our office that the 
annual snowpack averaged 240 inches. That is 20 feet. The thinnest 
snowpack in that equal period, that last 100 years--and, again, these 
are data collected every March for 100 years--the smallest, thinnest 
snowpack was 182 inches--not 240, which was the average--but 182 
inches, roughly 15 feet. Two-hundred forty inches is 20 feet.
  This winter, it was about 60 inches. That is 5 feet. So the average 
was 20 feet, the alltime low in 100 years was 15 feet, and suddenly 
this year it is 5 feet.

  And this isn't an isolated incident. Colorado is facing its worst 
drought in 1,200 years, according to sediments from the Grand Canyon. 
Let me say that again because it is hard to believe. Colorado is facing 
its worst drought in 1,200 years. That means you have to go back to the 
9th century to find drought conditions this bad in Colorado.
  Lake Mead and Lake Powell, two of our biggest reservoirs in the West, 
have now fallen to their lowest levels on record. If the water in Lake 
Powell falls just another 33 feet, we will hit what they call the power 
pool, meaning that point where there won't be enough water to generate 
hydroelectric power.
  Not every wildfire is caused by climate change, but scientists widely 
agree that climate change is making the problem far worse. Heat, 
drought, a moisture-starved atmosphere all increase wildfire risk, and 
each of these factors can be connected back to climate change.
  Since joining the Senate, tackling wildfires and drought has been 
among my top priorities. That is why we passed the Inflation Reduction 
Act, which included the largest climate investment in American history. 
We won $4 billion for the Colorado River Basin and $8 billion for 
western water infrastructure.
  We have brought Senators from seven States together to form the 
Colorado River Caucus, a bipartisan caucus, to build consensus on how 
to use our shared resources, and we have introduced legislation that 
would help manage our forests better as well.
  Overgrown woodlands are tinderboxes that let wildfires spread faster 
and farther, but too often government bureaucracy blocks the projects 
that we most need in order to reduce that risk before disaster strikes.
  Together with Senators Alex Padilla,  John Curtis, and Tim Sheehy, we 
introduced the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act. The idea is simple: 
streamline forest management and speed up new technologies for wildfire 
prevention, detection, and response.
  Our bill has passed through committee, and it is waiting for a full 
vote on the Senate floor. It shouldn't take another tragedy for the 
Senate to act. We need to pass Fix Our Forests now.
  Solving our drought and our wildfire challenges requires cooperation 
across every level of government, but recently, that cooperation has 
been strained. Last year, the Trump administration froze over $150 
million in already-obligated funding for 17 Colorado water and drought 
resiliency projects. At a time of unprecedented drought, that is quite 
simply unconscionable.
  We refused to accept it, and we pushed the administration to release 
that money. So far, we have gotten roughly two-thirds of the funds 
released. We will not stop pushing until Colorado communities get every 
dollar they are entitled to.

[[Page S4360]]

  Colorado is also home to one of the world's great scientific 
resources, the National Center for Atmosphere Research, which is in 
Boulder, CO. For years, NCAR has given weather, climate, and wildfire 
forecasts that firefighters and emergency managers rely on to fight 
disasters. And we are going to keep fighting for NCAR and for science.
  And, finally, solving our wildfire problem and responding to 
disasters requires all of us to work together.
  So I want to, for a moment, just speak directly to our President. 
Last summer, one of the largest wildfires in Colorado history tore 
through Rio Blanco County. President Trump should know this county 
well. Can't expect him to know every county, but this is a special 
county. They love him. They voted overwhelmingly to support him in 
2024, but there are now a lot less campaign signs there than there were 
in 2024.
  When Colorado filed a disaster declaration to help these same people 
rebuild and prevent future tragedies, the White House denied their 
request. These are people who did everything right their entire lives, 
only to lose it all in a natural disaster. They paid their taxes, 
believing that if the worst ever did happen, their government would be 
there for them.
  I think President Trump broke that promise. Disasters should never be 
political, but this administration has politicized it. And if you are a 
Republican living in a blue State, you had better hope that disaster 
doesn't strike your community or, if you live in a red State and our 
next President happens to be a Democrat, you better hope this new 
Democratic President doesn't stick to these new rules created by 
President Trump.
  The President has approved 80 percent of disaster requests from 
Republican Governors but only about 60 percent from Democratic 
Governors. That is not normal. To my knowledge, that has never happened 
before at that scale.
  Under prior administrations, the approval rate was roughly the same 
no matter which way a State had voted. And that is the way it should 
be. That is the way it has to be in a democracy. Politics should never 
decide whether you can rebuild your house after a fire.
  The Aspen Acres fire in south-central Colorado has already destroyed 
over 300 houses. Colorado is slowly getting that fire under control, 
thanks to the brave firefighters who are working day and night, 
addressing it.
  It is the seventh-largest wildfire in State history, and we are 
grateful FEMA has authorized fire management assistance grants for that 
fire, as well as for the Gold Mountain fire and the Willow fire.
  The Aspen Acres fire will likely require a major disaster 
declaration. If it does, we will push this administration with 
everything we have to make sure Colorado gets the resources it needs 
and deserves.
  We are also fighting to take politics out of disaster relief. 
Congress needs to pass our bipartisan Disaster Declaration Transparency 
Act. It gives Congress the power to review disaster relief denials 
driven--or at least apparently driven--by politics because disaster 
relief should never be political.
  In the meantime, it is important that every single Coloradan do their 
part to help reduce wildfire risks. They have got to follow local 
restrictions, practice campfire safety, and create defensible space 
around their property.
  On a recent trip to Beulah--which was engulfed by the Aspen Acres 
fire--I saw firsthand the devastation that wildfires leave behind.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Will the Senator wrap up his comments, please.
  Mr. HICKENLOOPER. Mr. President, block after block, all that remained 
was heavy smoke and heartbreak, charred chimneys, and maybe a hearth 
here and there.
  Drought and wildfires aren't going away. Unless we act, they will 
only become more frequent, more destructive, and more expensive. That 
is why we need to work together on commonsense solutions to make 
everything we do safer.
  That is why we are fighting here. That is what we are fighting for 
here in Washington, and I hope my colleagues will join me in this 
effort.
  I yield the floor.