The first line of defense against the wildfires that regularly ravage Colorado's forests and threaten Front Range homes is often the beleaguered volunteer fire department. Now, a couple of GOP lawmakers at the statehouse are planning to send in some reinforcements.

Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, and Rob Witwer, R-Genesee, are putting forth a legislative package of four bills and two resolutions in an effort to anticipate future wildfires and to bolster the work of community firefighting programs.

"My hope with these bills is not only to give the men and women of the Front Range much-needed assistance, but also to send a message that these communities have allies here at the Capitol who understand and care about creating and maintaining healthy forests," Kopp said  "We will do everything in our power to make sure areas most threatened by wildfires will be better prepared when fire season rolls around again."

Their bills have met with some success in the General Assembly so far, with one bill making it out of the House and another passing the Senate.  Kopp said it is likely Ritter will sign both bills.

Sen. Mike Kopp helps a volunteer firefighting team.

Kopp and Witwer came up with the package because they say the issue hits too close to home to be ignored.  Kopp--who is a former "hot shot" forest firefighter and is also the son of a firefighter--wants to take what he says is a lifetime of education on the subject of forest fires and put it to use for his foothills constituents. They are often in harm's way due to wildfires. 

Witwer, whose foothills district includes the site of the Hi Meadow fire and Buffalo Creek fire in recent years, says the state cannot afford to wait.

"If the Hayman and Missionary Ridge fires taught us anything, it's that the threat is real, and the state needs to act decisively to mitigate the impact of future fires," Witwer said. "The threat of catastrophic wildfire is only made worse by the beetle-kill situation. If we wait until tomorrow to act, it will be to late."

The comprehensive bill package includes measures that would provide training and tax incentives to volunteer firefighters and homeowners who organize their efforts to combat fires on the front range.  The slate of bills would address these issues in several ways:

• Senate Bill 39 offers wildfire mitigation training for fire protection district board members.  The pilot program offering courses in wildfire prevention and mitigation is paid for by Department of Homeland Secruity funds.  SB 39 has passed the Senate.
• House Bill 1110 grants a $2,500 tax deduction to homeowners living in an area that has a community wildfire-protection plan.  Its idea is to encourage homeowners to create defensible space around their homes. The bill has passed the House.
• House Bill 1324 would have created a tax credit for volunteer firefighters.  It would have helped recruit and retain volunteer firefighters by offering them a two-year $250 credit on their income taxes.  HB 1324 was killed in the House Committee on Finance.
• House Bill 1334 would allow volunteer firefighters to pool their numbers to buy health insurance.  HB 1334 has passed out of committee and will now be taken up by the full House.

Two resolutions, that are yet to be introduced, have also been proposed by Kopp and Witwer:

• One resolution will recognize the contributions volunteer firefighters have made to Colorado
• The other will form a task force whose purpose is to set legislative priorities  on wildland-urban interface and beetle-kill issues.

"Colorado's forests are among our most prized natural resources," Kopp said.  "Rob and I believe these bills represent an innovative step toward heading off the next calamity in our forests."