PHOENIX — Arizona's Forest and Wildfire Management Ad Hoc Committee will release a report on wildfires, the federal response to those fires, and the flooding that happens afterward in our state.
Last week, the committee held its final hearing on the issue, listening to experts about the total costs of some Arizona fires.
Melanie Colavito with the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University presented a study to the committee regarding the 2010 Schultz Fire near Flagstaff.
"We wanted to understand the cost of that wildfire that isn't just related to fire suppression, but the cost that continues to accrue over time," Colavito said.
Total losses over a span of 10 years, including post-fire flooding, response, and home sale value prices were estimated to be between $111 million and $117 million dollars.
The committee, which was formed last year to make policy recommendations on reducing wildfire risks in Arizona, also listened to members of UArizona and the U.S. Forest Service about other fires. This included the Telegraph Fire that burned parts of Gila County in 2021.
One of the key mitigation efforts discussed to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires was forest thinning and restoration.
"Proactive forest restoration and fuels reduction treatments before the fire that helped to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire really can reduce the cost that we would see if a fire does burn catastrophically," Colavito states.
The committee tells ABC15 that the final report will be released within the next two weeks.
