The bill Congress just passed to avoid a government shutdown includes almost $18 million for recovery efforts at two of last summer’s massive wildfires in Colorado. The High Park Fire near Fort Collins charred 87,000 acres. The Waldo Canyon Fire near Colorado Springs scorched 18,000 acres. Water run-off and erosion in those burn areas jeopardize hundreds of homes and threaten the water supply for hundreds of thousands of people. John Andrews is the conservation engineer for Colorado with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. He tells CPR’s Pat Mack how the federal money will be spent to reduce the dangers in the burn areas.
[Photo: High Park Fire, U.S. Forest Service]