7 JULY 30-AUGUST 5, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | Stevens-Rumann wants Colorado to utilize prescribed burns to improve forest health and reduce built-up fuel, preventing mass wildfi re destruction. Those kinds of burns are permitted, performed only under certain weather conditions, and supported as an essential tool by expert organizations, including the National Park Service. How- ever, they are rarely conducted in Colorado compared to neighboring states, Stevens- Rumann says. Much of the hesitancy is due to the Lower North Fork fi re of 2012. The blaze started as a prescribed fi re managed by the Colorado State Forest Service southeast of Conifer. Lingering embers and high winds resulted in out-of-control fl ames, killing three people and destroying around two dozen homes. “That put a screaming halt to prescribed fi re work in the state of Colo- rado,” Morgan recalls. Today, Morgan says conversations have restarted around how to do the burns safely. Offi cials conducted the fi rst prescribed fi re training exchange in northern Colorado last April, Rocky Mountain PBS reported. “There’s defi nitely an appetite to do it. Now we just have to fi nd the budget to do it,” he explains. “We have built programs very well to respond to and support fi re suppression, but we haven’t built out the workforce and the programs needed for pile burning, prescribed fi re and that kind of work. Our fi refi ghting workforce is not the same workforce. We need to fi nd ways to do more investment into that work.” Recent years of billion-dollar state budget defi cits leave Colorado in a tough spot for additional investments. The state also faces fi nancial hurdles on the national level. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has delayed billions of dollars meant to help states recover from disasters and prepare for future disasters. FEMA’s post- fi re Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has not been approved for any major disaster declarations since March 2025, according to a July 16 letter from Colorado’s U.S. senators. Colorado and two dozen other states are su- ing the Trump administration over the mat- ter, accusing the feds of illegally withholding grants to coerce states into adopting certain voting and immigration policies. The Trump administration has also con- ducted mass staff and budget cuts through- out the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service. The Forest Service lost 16% of its workforce as of last summer, resulting in less wildfi re prevention work, as the limited staff is oc- cupied with fi refi ghting, National Public Radio reported. “We’re arguing about status quo staffi ng levels when we need to be talking about [increasing] staffi ng levels to meet the threat and the challenge that we’re facing,” Morgan says. “The state of Colorado has invested very heavily in our staffi ng levels and our aircraft to help protect Colorado. But as a nation, we’re going to have to fi nd ways to invest more to protect our communities.” Stevens-Rumann says the federal layoffs have long-term impacts, as well. High-level positions were lost, eliminating institutional knowledge and shaking the sense of career stability for those in the fi eld. This year, the Trump administration has moved to shut down government laboratories studying the effects of wildfi res, including 57 of 77 research labs at the Forest Service. “As a professor, I’ve seen a big shift in stu- dents,” says Stevens-Rumann, an associate professor in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University. “The majority of the students in my department have historically gone to federal positions. Now, there are lots of questions as to whether or not working for the Forest Service is a good idea.” “These are passionate young people who really want to protect and conserve our natu- ral spaces,” she adds. “If we lose that group of people, I don’t know what our federal land management The Marshall fi re destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County in December 2021. MILE HIGH TRAVELER/GETT Y IMAGES continued on page 8 BOULDERTHEATER.COM FOXTHEATRE.COM JUST ANNOUNCED SEP 10 .............................................MARCO STROUS JUST ANNOUNCED DEC 8 .........................................................JIM JAMES FEB 28 ......................................................LOS LOBOS AUG 13 JULY 31 AUG 10 AUG1 AUG6 AUG8 AUG7 AUG9 AUG 15 AUG 22 SEP9 SEP 18 SEP 11 JULY 30 DJANGO FESTIVAL ALLSTARS FEAT. SAMSON SCHMITT, LUDOVIC BEIER, PIERRE BLANCHARD HOUSE PARTY MID-2000’S PARTY ANTHEMS, EDM, HIP-HOP & REMIXES ANNABELLE DINDA LYRICS BORN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, ILL SE7EN, FREEDOM MOVEMENT, MAGNIFICENT WINGSPAN, STUDIO GET-DOUGH, LIFTEDFATE, ITALI PLUS MYSTERY ARTIST A VERY JERRY BIRTHDAY A NIGHT OF JGB - DAVE ABEAR’S A VERY JERRY BAND CANYON COLLECTIVE + THUNDERBOOGIE MR FORGGER’S ELECTRIC MEATSUIT TOADSTOOL THIRD TURN, ATLAS RADIO DON WAS AND THE PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE PLAYING MUSIC FROM GRATEFUL DEAD’S BLUES FOR ALLAH CASSIAN LATE-NIGHT 360° SET NICK SHOULDERS ESTHER ROSE MOLCHAT DOMA DITZ (UK) SAMANTHA FISH ZAC SCHULZE GANG SHAKEDOWN STREET PERFORMS 9/11/73 FREE BEFORE 8:30PM 21+ SLICK PORTAL DTTA, ONDY, ZAZZY, BEANZ
