Fire fear spurs legislators' D.C. trip

By Ed Sealover, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 25, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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Don't let the 1930s-era garb fool you: Sen. Dan Gibbs and Rep. Christine Scanlan are mad.

And, after getting dressed in the manner of Jimmy Stewart's "Mr. Smith" on Tuesday, they're off to Washington to demand the federal government do more to help prevent forest fires in Colorado.

Some 2 million acres of lodgepole pine have died in Colorado because of bark-beetle infestation. About 1 million people in the state live in the wildland-urban interface.

Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, and Scanlan, D-Dillon, will meet with members of the congressional delegation and federal government in the coming days and will bring with them a number of local officials to help with their pleas. Specifically, Gibbs said, they'll ask for money to help communities develop wildfire-prevention plans. They also want the feds to help local businesses turn wood pellets from dead trees into biomass.

The pair said this at a news conference on the state Capitol's west steps while wearing fedoras and carrying ratty, old-fashioned suitcases. It was a style reminiscent of Stewart's 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

The costume props were meant to symbolize efforts of average citizens regarding the federal government. Scanlan noted that the pair looked "pretty darn snappy." But Gibbs made it known they wouldn't be kindly, comedic characters when they show up in D.C.

"I know we're dressed in props. But we're heading to D.C. ... to raise some hell and raise awareness about this," Gibbs said. "Folks, we are looking at 2 million acres of dead trees. It's a tinderbox waiting to happen."

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