SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah State Forester Brian Cottam says the state’s wildfire season appears to be over and that it is adding up to be Utah’s most expensive ever.
KSL-TV reports that Cottam told the Utah Executive Appropriations Committee that firefighting costs this year will total $1150 million. That total includes $35 million for the state and $75 million for the federal government.
Cottam said nearly 500,000 acres (202,347 hectares) burned this year. That’s up significantly from the annual average of 135,000 acres (54,633 hectares) in the past seven years.
The committee met Tuesday in Duquesne (doo-KAYN’) order to tour areas impacted by a wildfire that accounted for most of the 87 homes destroyed by wildfires this year.
Tags: Wildfire
