The head of the U.S. Forest Service will come to Colorado Springs in May to see the watershed damaged by the Waldo Canyon fire and to underline flood dangers, erosion and threats to drinking water.

U.S. Congressman Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, said Monday during an editorial board meeting at The Gazette that he is bringing Forest Chief Tom Tidwell  to the area.The Waldo Canyon fire started June 23 on Forest Service land west of the city and burned there for days, then roared into the Mountain Shadows area in northwest Colorado Springs on June 26, destroying at least 346 homes and causing two deaths. The fires created significant damage to soil, putting areas at risk of flooding and mudslides.

Lamborn, in inviting the Forest Service chief to town, noted that “until emergency recovery measures are implemented, private property and possibly even the lives of local residents remain in harm’s way.”

Last week, the U. S. House Appropriations Committee included $48.2 million in Emergency Watershed Protection funding in a bill on its way to the Senate.

That money must be shared with 10 states. Lamborn predicted that areas affected by the Waldo Canyon fire and the High Park fire near Fort Collins would get substantial funding.

However, he added that he didn’t know how quickly the money would come.

In the meantime, he suggested that local officials address mitigation. Colorado Springs Utilities could do work in advance and be reimbursed. “It’s got to be done,” he said, whether local government, taxpayers or the federal government pays for it.

Utilities’ water division budgeted $12.8 million to repair damage related to the fire and to protect infrastructure and resources from flood damage, said Dave Grossman, a Utilities spokesman. “This is critical work that began last summer and is continuing in 2013.  Any reimbursement of these expenses would be reinvested back into water infrastructure,” he said.

Lamborn cautioned that resources are limited and there is competition for federal money. No one can give local authorities assurance that every penny would be reimbursed, he said.

He said a bill by Congressman Scott Tipton, R-Colorado, would cut red tape and give states and counties more control over forest management and how they will remove brush and mitigate fire areas. “It would allow locals not to be passive. They would have more control over their destiny.”—Contact Carol McGraw: 636-0371 Twitter @mcgrawatgazette Facebook Carol McGraw