Colorado Approves $2M for Lower North Fork Fire Claimants

The Colorado legislature has appropriated more than $2 million to compensate five property owners and a utility company affected by the Lower North Fork Fire in the foothills near Conifer.

The Denver Post reports Thursday’s appropriation of nearly $2.07 million brings the total paid by the state to $4.9 million among 16 claimants.

The March 22, 2012, controlled burn, which killed three people, was set by the Colorado State Forest Service doing watershed-protection work on land owned by Denver Water in Jefferson County. The blaze destroyed 24 buildings and burned 4,140 acres.

The Post reports 29 other landowners are in the process of seeking compensation from the state for their losses in the wildfire.