Highs and Lows: The Wildfire-Flood Cycle

My highs and lows this week are coming to you from Beaver, Utah, where I’ve joined officials from the federal, state, and local government to survey the damage caused by the Cottonwood Fire and the subsequent flooding. Obviously my low is the destruction that has come through this tight-knit community, where many lost their properties and took devastating blows to their livelihoods. As many of you know, wildfires and floods operate in a cycle. Wildfires remove the vegetation that absorbs moisture, which leads to flooding in our communities. But a high is that the people here have really rallied support for one another, and I got to see firsthand a community showcasing the pioneer spirit (on Pioneer Day, no less) by serving one another in the face of hardship. It was also a high that thanks to proactive emergency preparedness measures, there was no loss of life. This instance goes to show how critical it is to perform proactive forest management to mitigate wildfires. Part of my trip today has been to highlight the Fix Our Forests Act , which would fix the root issue of our forest management problem: an overly burdensome regulatory environment rife with litigation. The bill aims to combat catastrophic wildfires, restore forest ecosystems, and make federal forest management more efficient and responsive. Learn more about it here . Happy Pioneer Day! I hope you all have a great weekend celebrating with family and friends. Read Newsletter