Utahns know all too well that wildfire season no longer stays in its lane. Even this winter has shown us how vulnerable we are: thin early-season snowpack, late-arriving storms, and unusually warm stretches across the Wasatch have left our forests drier than they should be heading into next year. Smoke, evacuations, canyon closures and rising insurance costs now feel like a regular part of life from St. George to the Uintas. That is why Congress should move quickly to pass the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act.
Over the past 40 years, annual U.S. acres burned has roughly tripled — from about 2 million acres in the 1980s to 6 - 10 million acres a year today. Year-to-year swings are normal, but the long-term trend is sharply upward. We are also seeing more “megafires” that destroy entire neighborhoods, regardless of acreage. A warming climate is driving hotter, drier conditions in Utah, while a century of suppressing natural fire has left many of our forests dangerously overgrown. We have to address both the warming climate and the fuel problem.
The Fix Our Forests Act does exactly that. It speeds up the right kinds of forest work — thinning, prescribed fire, and other science-based treatments — on forests like the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Fishlake, while maintaining environmental safeguards. The Senate version also strengthens community input and tribal partnership, ensuring those most affected have a real voice.
Wildfires cost lives, damage lungs along the Wasatch Front, and make it more expensive to insure and rebuild our communities. We can either pay for smarter prevention now — or far more after each disaster. Urge Sen. Lee to join Sen. Curtis in supporting the Fix Our Forests Act.
Karen Jackson, Salt Lake City
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