Following a briefing provided by federal, state, and local officials on the state of the Juab County wildfires, U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) praised the coordinated response that helped protect nearby communities. In a video statement, Curtis renewed his call for the Senate to pass his bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act, legislation to modernize forest management and reduce catastrophic wildfire risk.
The full transcript is below.
I’m in Juab County today very near the city of Eureka, where we’ve just had two of our very big fires, and these are under control and doing well.
I had a chance to be briefed by BLM, by wildland firefighters, by the Forest Service, and by the city itself. I’m telling you, one of the things that was just touching was to hear the mayor talk about how he thought his entire city was going to burn, and how they were able to bring resources in—a lot of federal resources—to protect the city and a lot of the resources in the county.
It’s been very interesting. As you all know, we’ve got these severe fires across the entire state.
I’m working really hard on a bill. It’s called Fix Our Forests. It dramatically changes the way we manage our federal lands and our forests—not just federal, but all of our forests—before the fires. It changes the way we fight the fires and then the way we deal with the aftermath. And I’m hoping we can get that bill across the finish line. It’s called Fix Our Forests. Follow it and follow us.
Background:
Utah is experiencing one of its most challenging wildfire seasons, underscoring the need for policies that reduce hazardous fuels, improve coordination across jurisdictions, and accelerate recovery efforts after fires are contained. The bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act would reform how forests are managed before wildfires occur, improve the nation’s wildfire response, and strengthen post-fire restoration efforts. The legislation streamlines hazardous fuels reduction projects, expands cross-boundary collaboration, and helps federal land managers respond more quickly to growing wildfire threats.
The bill has widespread support and advanced in Committee in the U.S. Senate. The House passed companion legislation by a bipartisan vote. Read more about the legislation here.
