FRUITLAND, Duchesne County — Just how bad was the wildfire season this summer in Utah?
The acreage burned, homes lost and firefighting costs all registered at historic levels this wildfire season.
Utah State Forester Brian Cottam laid out the numbers Tuesday for the Utah Executive Appropriations Committee, which met in Duchesne in order to include a tour of areas impacted by the destructive Dollar Ridge Fire this past summer. That was one of several costly fires in Utah this year that added up to the most expensive in our state’s history.
"By almost any measurement, it’s historic — and it’s historically bad," Cottam said.
Utah will pay $35 million for fire suppression costs this year — the biggest wildfire bill ever in the state. The federal government is picking up $75 million in fire suppression costs for a total of $110 million in firefighting costs in the state this year.
Over the past seven years, Utah averaged 135,000 acres burned each wildfire season, Cottam said. This year nearly 500,000 acres burned — three times the average — to become one of the most devastating wildfire seasons for acreage ever in Utah.
"Everything is just to a great degree more than what it normally is," he said.
Even worse, 87 homes were destroyed this year, most of those in Duchesne County in the Dollar Ridge Fire in July.
"We can go through an entire fire season and not lose a home, and we’re proud of that in Utah," Cottam said. "This was a horrible year in that regard."
Fires this summer also wiped out 400 structures, such as sheds and outbuildings.
The state forester asked the committee for a supplemental $16 million to cover the costs. The committee toured areas torched by the Dollar Ridge Fire before the meeting to get a sense of the damages from that fire.
"Nothing is more impactful than actually being on the ground and seeing the devastation that happened," said House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper.
The speaker said preventive measures have cut some firefighting costs for residents and in turn the state. He added that a variety of preventative measures can continue to make a big difference in future firefighting costs, but more money also needs to be set aside for firefighting.
"Not waiting for the fire to happen, but trying to prepare for when it does," Hughes said. "Lessons have been learned over the last few years, as we've seen these fire seasons get worse."
This year, Cottam said so much of the devastation was exacerbated because of the severe drought conditions.
"The drought has had an enormous impact on fires," he said.
The state forester said he expects the fire season is over, but added that anything can still happen, especially in a year as dry as this one.