Half of Colorado at Risk for Fire

One the heels of updated number from the State Forest Service that says more than half of Colorado's population lives in areas at risk for wildfires, federal officials debate best wild fire practices.

In Paradise, California Monday the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture talked about their approach to limiting the giant fires that consumed whole communities this year as well as the Federal Government's new report on climate change.

Interior Sectretary Ryan Zinke says he hasn't read the report yet but...

And Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says he's aware of the problem.

Population increase and the conversion of farmlands to living spaces comes as states across the West are faced with larger and more destructive wildfires each year.

Colorado State Forest Service in updated statistics says some 2.9 million residents live in the wildland-urban interface, which means their homes sit within or near areas deemed wildfire-prone, a 45-percent increase from the last estimate released five years ago.