The Democratic governor spoke briefly about the discussions during a news conference where he urged Colorado residents to be aware of the fire danger this Fourth of July holiday, and advised homeowners living in high-risk areas to work on mitigation around their properties.
Hickenlooper emphasized that the idea of a regional aerial fleet is preliminary. It came up during the Western Governors' Association meeting last week in Utah. Colorado lawmakers this year passed a bill for a state firefighting fleet but didn't budget funds for it.
The governor said a standing fleet would be shared by Western states during the summer.
"We can do this more cheaply by working with other states," he said of having a state fleet separate from the federal resources.