Catastrophic wildfires rage throughout Utah's forests and rangelands each year. Their immediate effects include extensive damage to landscapes, destruction of homes and buildings, and, sadly, loss of human and animal life. Some of their long-term effects include excessive sediment transport and water pollution in and along the precious watersheds within the state. Ultimately, these latter issues affect reservoir and water treatment plant operations. Catastrophic wildfires need to be prevented.
In recent years, Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD) has felt the impacts of catastrophic wildfires:
The 2018 Dollar Ridge Fire in the Uinta Basin burned nearly 69,000 acres in the watershed above Starvation Reservoir resulting in District expenditures of more than $28 million to retrofit and protect the Duchesne Valley Water Treatment Plant.
The 2020 Range Fire burned nearly 3,000 acres at the mouth of Provo Canyon and was within a few hundred feet of the District's Don A. Christiansen Regional Water Treatment Plant before being stopped. This water treatment plant serves more than 1 million people.
The 2020 East Fork Fire burned nearly 90,000 acres along the south flank of the Uinta Mountains in eastern Utah. The burn area included nearly the entire watershed above Upper Stillwater Reservoir—a major collection and diversion facility where waters begin their journey to Strawberry Reservoir and eventually reach the Wasatch Front.
CUWCD supports organizations, programs, and initiatives that work to reduce the occurrence of catastrophic wildfires. The mitigative treatment of lands at high-fire risk saves the values previously listed and is far less expensive than fire suppression and post-fire rehabilitation.
Specific organizations, programs, and initiatives that CUWCD supports include:
- - Utah's Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy (CatFire)
- - Utah's Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI)
- - U.S. Forest Service's Shared Stewardship Strategy
- - National Water Resources Association's (NWRA) Forest Health Strategies
- - Congress' Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus
Through these collaborative efforts, catastrophic wildfires can and will be reduced.