SB 14-045 Summary

• Fire chiefs must seek assistance from the county sheriff when a wildfire exceeds the fire protection district's capability to control or extinguish it.

• County sheriffs serve as principal coordinators of federal, state, and local wildfire response and may assume any duty or responsibility normally handled by fire protection districts in unincorporated areas when a wildfire exceeds the district's capability.

• Sheriffs remain responsible for planning and coordinating wildfire suppression efforts in unincorporated county areas and must appoint a local incident management team when fires require mutual aid and outside resources.

• When wildfires exceed the county's capability, sheriffs must request state assistance from the division, with the sheriff and state director entering into agreements concerning the transfer of authority and responsibility under a unified command structure.

• The state division is designated as the lead state agency for wildland fire suppression and may assist counties and assume command of incidents with the sheriff's concurrence under a unified command structure.