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"Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast techniques mean change. " 12 . It is difficult to nwbilize available fire resources from throughout the state. Structure fire protection forces are available, but are slow to form into effective teams. Hours have been required to assemble five fire engines and crews from different fire departments into an engine strike team with a leader. Then they must travel to the fire. Liability insurance issues, provincial attitudes of some fire departments, lack of trained personnel and absence of a statewide mutual aid plan or authority have also contributed to the delays. The Costs and Who Pays The wildland/urban interface puts significant fire protection costs on various segments of Colorado's population. At first glance, it might seem only the landowner is affected, but ultimately, the risks one person accepts eventually affect neighbors, surrounding natural resources and the public. Thus, "who pays?" intertwines many: Taxpayers: Where tax,supported fire districts exist, all taxpayers within the district pay regardless of their personal fire safety practices or fire losses. Because of statutory limits upon district tax rates and the 1992 Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) amendment to the state constitution, local fire districts are often unable to afford the much higher costs of defending structures against wildfires in interface areas. When extra help is needed, the local fire department calls upon other agencies for mutual aid. When other fire agencies respond to help in mutual aid, they do so at their own expense, Thus, taxpayers in distant fire districts not threatened also pay for fires in the interface. When county forces are necessary, all taxpayers within the county are paymg. When wildfire overwhelms county fire forces, the State Emergency Fire Suppression Fund, a multi,county trust fund, may be activated by the State Forester to pay the extraordinary costs of interface fires. Therefore, every taxpayer of those counties participating in the Fund pays the additional cost, regardless of the fire's location. Virtually every state taxpayer pays to some degree when state resources are used. Approximately 66 percent of the Colorado State Forest Service fire protection budgets come from the general fund of the State of Colorado. When federal assistance is utilized to assist state or local fire forces, or to defend federal lands from an encroaching fire, all the nation's taxpayers pay through their federal taxes. Reliance on federal agencies or funding to handle nonfederal wildfire problems is unrealistic considering responsibilities, federal program cutbacks, and federal deficit reduction needs. Colorado taxpayers will have to pay for their state and local responsibilities. When forest and watershed fires burn unchecked, an important resource of Colorado is being destroyed. This eventually can result in loss of tax revenues. Again, all Coloradans pay. . .