CONIFER, Colo.—Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says the state will conduct a thorough review after a prescribed burn apparently erupted into a wildfire that left two people dead and one missing.
Hickenlooper visited the 6-square-mile burn area southwest of Denver Thursday. The fire destroyed or damaged 27 homes.
Hickenlooper says the review will be done with “a great sense of urgency” but cautioned against rushing to judgment.
He has suspended the use of prescribed burns on state lands until the review is complete. The ban doesn’t affect federal land—which accounts for over a third of Colorado—but the governor urged counties and federal agencies to consider a temporary suspension.
Forest managers use prescribed burns to clear out dried vegetation in hopes of preventing a catastrophic fire.
