As former governors of Colorado, we both know what it means to lead during major wildfire disasters. We have seen the smoke columns rise over our state, watched families flee their homes, stood with firefighters on the front lines, and faced the brutal reality that a fast-moving fire can change lives, landscapes and communities forever.
Those experiences stay with you. They also teach a simple lesson: when it comes to wildfire, denial, delay and ideology come at a very high cost.
That is why wildfire awareness matters. May is not just a marker on the calendar. It is the beginning of wildfire season. It is a warning. In Colorado, this is the moment to prepare for the dangerous months ahead and to be honest about what real prevention requires — proactive forest treatment prevents the worst.
Wildfire is not only a forest issue. It is a public safety issue. It is a health issue. It is an economic issue. Lives are put at risk. Homes, businesses and ranches are destroyed. Watersheds are damaged. Entire communities are left to recover for years. Even far from the flames, smoke can turn the air hazardous, especially for children, seniors and those with respiratory conditions.
Colorado has learned these lessons the hard way. We know wildfire cannot be eliminated. But we also know the severity of these disasters is not simply something we are powerless to address. There are practical, science-based steps we can take to reduce risk. The problem is that for too long, too many people have treated active forest management as too invasive rather than absolutely necessary.
That needs to change.
We should say clearly what too often goes unsaid: healthy forests do not maintain themselves, and neglected forests do not become safer with wishful thinking. In many high-risk areas, doing nothing is not conservation. It is complacency and it is dangerous.
For years, there have been loud voices opposing the very tools that can help reduce catastrophic wildfire risk — strategic thinning, fuel reduction, forest clearing where appropriate, and prescribed burns when conditions allow. Too often, these arguments are dressed up as environmental virtue. In reality, blocking responsible management can leave forests less healthy, communities more vulnerable and firefighters facing even greater danger.
Colorado needs a more mature conversation, especially as we deal with prolonged drought, warming temperatures, pine and Ponderosa beetles, and other threats to forest health. Stewardship is not abuse. Forest management is not the enemy of healthy ecosystems. If anything, refusing to use proven tools in fire-prone landscapes is its own kind of recklessness.
We should be working closely with the United States Forest Service and the Colorado State Forest Service and local governments to accelerate projects in areas already designated as high wildfire threat. We should prioritize the places where fire risk, community exposure and forest conditions demand action most urgently. We should support mechanical thinning, hazardous-fuel removal, and controlled burns when science and on-the-ground expertise indicate they make sense.
And yes, when and where appropriate, responsible access and carefully managed resource activity can be part of healthier forests and stronger rural economies. That should not be controversial. It should be common sense.
None of this means every acre should be treated the same way. It means decisions should be driven by science, local knowledge and public safety — not by rigid ideology or pressure from groups more interested in stopping management than solving problems.
Colorado鈥檚 forests protect water supplies, support wildlife, provide recreation, sustain local economies and define the character of our state. If we want those public benefits to endure for generations to come, we have to be willing to manage these lands responsibly.
The costs of inaction are simply too high. Every year we delay needed work, we increase the odds that the next fire will burn hotter, spread faster and do more damage. Every year we refuse to confront reality, we make future losses more likely and more expensive.
Coloradans deserve better than another season of hand-wringing followed by disaster. They deserve leaders willing to act before the emergency, not just speak solemnly after it.
We have both seen wildfire from the seat of state leadership. We know the fear, the destruction and the heartbreak it leaves behind. We also know Colorado has the expertise and the tools to do better.
Learn to Live Wildfire Friendly with less ideology, more science; less obstruction, more stewardship; less talk, more action.
Because when wildfire threatens Colorado, doing what works is not optional. It is our responsibility.
Gov. Bill Owens is a Republican who served from 1999 to 2007. Gov. Bill Ritter is a Democrat who served from 2007 to 2011.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.
