Washington, D.C. – Following the  publication of a report from the Wildfire Mitigation and Management Commission, Rep. John Curtis (R-UT), made the following statement:

“Utah, like much of the West, has experienced devastating wildfires in recent years,” said Rep. Curtis. “Recognizing this, I was proud to work with a bipartisan group of members to bring together experts to inform Congress and land managers on best practices on wildfire mitigation and management. With the report now out, I look forward to working to review their recommendations and stop the devastation and destruction that wildland fires leave in their wake.”

BACKGROUND:

Passage of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission Act of 2021 created a 50-member Commission with the ambitious task of creating policy recommendations to address nearly every facet of the wildfire crisis, including mitigation, management, and post-

fire rehabilitation and recovery. 

Last year, nearly 69,000 fires burned across seven million acres, more than 61,000 of which were human-caused fires, according to the National Interagency Fire Council. So far this year, in Utah, nearly 752 fires have burned more than 16,000 acres of land. 

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