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. "The Black Tiger Fire was everyone's worst nightmare come true." . . Fire Protection Responsibilities Confusing laws and a mixture of fire jurisdictions add yet another dimension to Colorado's "interface." Jurisdictions common in Colorado are: . City fire departments, responsible for all fires within city limits; wildfire capability varies greatly with each department. . Fire protection districts - special districts authorized to tax for protecting improvements from fue, but not clearly responsible for wildfues; the fue departments funded by the districts usually respond to wildfires within the district or elsewhere at request; not all have wildfire capability. . Fire departments outside fire district or city - authorities and responsibilities not recognized in state statutes; not tax supported; respond to fires in certain areas or for limited publics; wildfire capabilities vary gTeatl y. . County sheriffs' responsible by Colorado statute for controlling forest and prairie fires; no direct responsibility for fires inside structures, but can become involved in sending fire department forces to control any fire in the county. . State forester, responsible by Colorado statute for "providing" wildfue protection, but clearly cannot usurp the sheriff's responsibility for controlling fires; state forester may assume fire control duty of the sheriff upon sheriff's concurrence; can become involved in defending structures from encroaching wildfires; no responsibility for fires inside structures; wildfire responsibility inside city limits not clear. . Other state land agencies - responsibilities not stated or confusing with sheriff responsibilities. . Federal land management agencies - clearly responsible for controlling wildfues on federal lands; no inside-structure fire responsibility or capability except for National Park Service. . Federal military areas - responsible for all fires within the base perimeter. This variety of jurisdictions and responsibilities, coupled with Colorado's mixed land ownerships, often results in a duplicate response to the same fire, all at public expense. It may result in no response when each expects the other agency to respond. Figure 2 gTaphically portrays this protection complex. So it was with the 1994 fires and the 1989 Black Tiger Fire in the jumbled private,state,federa11and ownership patterns. Fires become the simultaneous responsibility of the local fire chief, the county sheriff and any threatened federal land agency. The State Forester also becomes involved soon after whenever there is a possible need to assist in controlling wildfire. 7