Rep. Blake Moore paid tribute to a trio of firefighters who died last weekend in a wildfire along the Utah-Colorado border, calling on Congress to pass legislation to better protect forest lands and prevent mass fires.
In a floor speech on Tuesday, Moore honored the three firefighters — identified as 38-year-old Emily Barker, 27-year-old Nick Hutcherson, and 26-year-old Sydney Watson — who died after being trapped while responding to the Knowles and Gore wildfires. The trio attempted to shield themselves from the flames with an emergency shelter, but they were overcome by the flames, according to officials.
“Their sacrifice will not be forgotten,” Moore said. “I’m grateful to the many first responders working tirelessly to protect us, brave men and women from across the state on the front lines, fighting for our communities, and we can never adequately thank them for their service in Utah, and across the country.”
Two other firefighters in the crew survived, but they were hospitalized with burn injuries. Both are in stable condition, officials said.
Wildfires have been raging across the western United States over the last few weeks, particularly in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada. The largest fire in Utah, the Cottonwood fire, has burned more than 93,200 acres and is only at 19% containment.
Moore called on Congress to pass legislation aimed toward protecting federal forest lands to better prevent wildfires like the ones ravaging his home state of Utah and surrounding states.
The Utah Republican specifically pointed to the Fix Our Forests Act, a bipartisan bill that would establish requirements for managing federal forests such as expediting the review of certain management projects and implementing forest restoration and stewardship activities.
The bill passed the House in January, but it has not yet passed the Senate where Utah Sen, John Curtis is leading the charge to improve forest management practices and streamline environmental reviews.
“It’s time that the Senate finish the job and send this bill to the president’s desk,” Moore said. “As this weekend has shown, Utah cannot wait any longer.”