Just two people remain missing after Colorado's most costly wildfire on record destroyed nearly a thousand homes and businesses in Louisville and Superior.

After the first significant snowfall in the Denver Metro area this winter finally helped snuff out the Marshall Fire, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis reported Sunday that federal and state officials are ramping up recovery efforts.

"To the families who have lost everything they have," said Polis, "we are setting up everything that we can to help you get through what is likely to be one of - if not the - most difficult periods of your lives."

President Joe Biden approved a disaster order on Saturday, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Chief Deanne Criswell, along with some 100 staff, are now on the ground in Colorado.

People needing assistance are encouraged to visit the website 'disasterassistance.gov,' and people with disabilities can call or text the Disability and Disaster Hotline at 800-626-4959.

Joe Boven rushed to his family's home in Louisville on Thursday. But by the time he could make it past road closures and barricades, the house - which he said held generations of heirlooms - had already burned to the ground.

"Hundreds of years of history just went up in flames," said Boven. "So, it's pretty devastating. But even though all of that history is gone, it's great that we are able to still have the people. It's great they're all alive, so that we can continue to create history in the future."

The cause of the fire remains unknown. But climate scientists at the state's top universities cite the warmest and driest period from June to December on record as a major contributor.

Boven said his family will find a new place to live, but he wants leaders to move faster to rein in climate pollution.

"Having watched so many people lose their homes," said Boven, "and knowing that so many people don't have a place to go now, I think it's crucial that we really see our planet and you know, this natural environment as our home, as a whole. Because there isn't anywhere else that we can go."




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Elected officials in New York and across the country are urging state and local governments to use new funding available through the Environmental Protection Agency for local environmental projects to benefit their communities, particularly those left out of earlier development programs.

The group Elected Officials to Protect America is pointing toward a $27 billion fund created under the Inflation Reduction Act to award grants for greenhouse gas reduction programs.

Robin Reynolds Wilt, council member for the town of Brighton and an officer in the group's New York Leadership Council, said the projects will be built under a presidential order, in which 40% of the overall investments flow to disadvantaged communities marginalized, underserved and overburdened by pollution.

"This particular feature would allocate $27 billion to the EPA to make grants to fund entities that would effectively function as a national green bank," Wilt explained. "$20 billion of the fund is eligible only for nonprofits."

Wilt pointed out the projects will address climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, and affordable and sustainable housing. It will also fund the remediation and reduction of legacy pollution and the development of critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure. The deadline for applications is Oct. 12.

Wilt noted Elected Officials to Protect America is a network of current and former bipartisan elected officials who care about protecting the planet and democracy by working together to transition to a clean energy economy. She added the group educates and trains lawmakers through value-based storytelling and has national and state-based programs.

"These entities provide the funds toward clean-energy building, electrification projects," Wilt outlined. "Any scope of work that would impact greenhouse gas in a positive sense."

She stressed a national green bank would be the lending entity to finance projects reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in underserved communities. The funds could be used toward clean energy building electrification projects or any scope of work affecting greenhouse gas emissions.

If states like Minnesota are going to meet their climate goals, experts say younger workers will need to step into the roles to make it happen - like forest management. The Biden administration is reviving plans for that type of workforce. The White House has announced its American Climate Corps project, which involves hiring 20,000 people to be trained for these positions. Minnesota is among the states moving forward with their own, similar efforts.

Julia Nerbonne, executive director of Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, said the young adults being eyed for the work present an opportunity for cross-generational learning.

"Getting some of these young people into places where they can learn from elders in their community and folks who are out there getting the job done will be valuable," she explained. "But I also think that all of us have a lot to learn from the next generation."

The move comes as President Biden faces more pressure from youth climate activists, who want him to be more aggressive in pursuing mitigation efforts. An earlier larger-scale workforce model was scrapped during congressional negotiations. The plan has drawn comparisons to the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

Danielle Hefferan, regional Minnesota education coordinator for Climate Generation, said students have shown great deal of concern about the need for environmental solutions, but added it is not enough to push schools to teach them about it - adding these state and federal initiatives give them clearer pathways for many different roles.

"There's communication folks, storytellers, farmers - so many different roles that could be a, quote, 'climate job' and help advance towards climate solutions," she continued.

Peter Nelson, vice president of impact and innovation for Serve Minnesota, which oversees AmeriCorps programs in the state, said these new efforts as enhancing their climate work, such as getting folks trained to recruit volunteers.

"We want to get people into these service programs, to get them employed, working in areas that they're passionate about. But it's also about getting the word out - engaging with our community, because it really is [an] all hands-on deck situation," he explained.


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A new federal jobs program aims to mobilize tens of thousands of young Americans to address the growing threats of climate change.

The American Climate Corps is modeled after public works programs created during the Great Depression, with a new focus on building green energy and climate resilience.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey - D-MA - called it ambitious, just and pro-union.

"The tens of thousands of American Climate Corps members will not just help us save the world from climate threats," said Markey, "they will help us build a world worth saving."

President Joe Biden created the program through an executive order after the effort was thwarted by Republicans in Congress, who questioned its cost.

American Climate Corps members can sign up online for paid training opportunities in land and water restoration, energy-efficiency technologies and more.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez - D-NY - said the program is an important part of the Green New Deal, a legislative proposal backed by climate activists.

"We are starting to turn the green dream into a green reality," said Ocasio Cortez. "You all are changing the world."

Ocasio-Cortez said the American Climate Corps will focus on equity and environmental justice, prioritizing communities that have been disproportionately affected by climate change.

Lawmakers credited young environmental activists for pressuring the White House to create the jobs training program. College student John Paul Mejia - an organizer with the Sunrise Movement - thanked President Biden for listening.

"Thousands of young people were out on the streets asking for more," said Mejia. "You got young people's attention. You decide what you do with it."

They're now circulating a petition, calling on the president to declare climate change a national emergency.

And five states also announced the creation of their own Climate Corps, bringing the total number of state-level programs to ten.




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