Firefighting Costs Depleted 2 Years’ Funds
Wyoming’s State Forester has presented a report to the joint budget committee that underscores what Governor Matt Mead has said about the cost of fighting last summer’s wildfires in the state. However, Bill Crapser’s report indicates the costs went beyond consuming all of the 2012 funds set aside for fire suppression. He says the season depleted both the state’s entire fire suppression budget and its emergency account for both 2012 and 2013. An estimated 1300 to 1400 fires burned about 600-thousand acres across Wyoming. Some of the costliest of those fires were located south of Jackson on the Bridger Teton National Forest. Wyoming’s share of fighting the wildfires in 2012 will total an estimated $42-million. Crapser told the legislature’s joint appropriations committee last week the total cost of the fire season (including what the Federal Government will pay) was estimated at $105-million.
