Gov. Jared Polis, along with U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, as well as Rep. Joe Neguse, on Monday sent a letter urging federal officials to distribute $50 million in funding for the East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fire recovery efforts in Colorado.

The letter, which Colorado’s officials sent to U.S. Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and United States Forest Service Chief Randy Moore, stressed the need to fund projects in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, where about 400,000 acres were burned by wildfires in 2020.

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The fires “laid waste to drinking water sources for over a million people,” and the lack of funding for recovery projects “threatens public health and safety,” Colorado’s officials said.

“Every time it rains on the burn scars from these fires, the potential for mudslides and flooding risks the life and property of Coloradans nearby or downstream,” they added.

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Grand County, Greeley and Fort Collins have a $228 million hole in their recovery budget, which is why they said it’s imperative to distribute the $50 million available to Colorado, Bennet, Hickenlooper, Polis and Neguse emphasized.  

The funding will go to projects aimed at rehabilitating and stabilizing watersheds and restoring ecosystems that were torched by the East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires, they said.

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