April 22, 2025 10:13 AM UTC

Colorado Is DOGEd This Fire Season And It's Worse Than You Thought

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• by: Colorado Pols

As Brett Forrest reports for Denver7, Republican Teller County Commissioner Dan Williams is sounding the alarm after getting bad news from U.S. Forest Service officials about massive reductions in force that could result in a disastrous shortage of resources to respond to wildfires across the nation already springing up after another dry winter:

Williams, who also sits on the Teller County Wildland Fire Council, said he learned the information during a meeting last week with state and federal partners.

“We were told is that for Colorado, we’ve had a 40% decrease in firefighting capability by the feds. It’s gone. [Pols emphasis] So, the trucks, the people, the airplanes,” Williams said. “When we have a fire, I can call the governor. They send state assets. But at some point, if it’s really bad, we have to call the feds. Right now, I don’t have a lot of confidence in that.”

Williams noted that federal employees have been extremely guarded since the Trump Administration and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began enacting widespread cuts across the government, including the Forest Service…

Back in February, the firing of over a hundred local Forest Service employees along with a temporary freeze on the hiring of seasonal workers made headlines and alarmed local officials worried about the impact of these mass layoffs on the federal government’s ability to protect communities across the West during the rapidly-approaching wildfire season. But what Commissioner Williams is describing goes well beyond what has been reported previously, and if correct is nothing short of a dire emergency.

As a result, Williams is calling on Gov. Jared Polis to refuse out-of-state requests for firefighting assistance this summer, and keep state resources ready to protect Colorado with an expectation of depleted federal help:

Due to the uncertainty at the federal level, Teller County Commissioner Dan Williams called on Governor Polis and state agencies to keep firefighting assets in Colorado out of fear that there is no longer enough support to handle a large wildfire.

“I would say Colorado is at risk. We have 24 million acres of forest in Colorado,” Williams said. “I don’t think we send assets outside of Colorado this summer. [Pols emphasis] And that’s not ugly, that’s life and safety. The governor is going to make those tough calls, but I think we focus inwards.”

Folks, this is a very big deal. We’re talking about a possible breakdown of interstate cooperation and mutual assistance to fight wildfires. If every state were to decide that due to a lack of confidence in the federal government they cannot assist other states, the nation has taken a huge step backward in terms of disaster preparedness at the worst possible moment. Climate change is making fire season longer and more destructive every year, while sprawl into wildlands puts more people in the path of destruction. Meanwhile, the federal government is unilaterally disarming itself in the fight against wildfires and purging the phrase “climate change” from its approved vocabulary.

To say this is setting up to not end well could be a historic understatement.

For Colorado, it is looking more like the classic prelude to disaster with each passing day.