Controlled burn plans in works for 3 Utah national forests

By BRIAN MAFFLY
Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — For decades, the U.S. Forest Service’s practice of putting out wildfires was a huge success. But the Salt Lake Tribune reports the policy backfired, setting the stage for the massive destructive wildfires that have flared with increasing regularity across the West. While putting out fires remains a priority, deliberately setting them is becoming more common, especially in Utah, as a more cost-effective and ecologically sound strategy for fixing forest health. Three of Utah’s five national forests are now developing plans for conducting controlled burns on all their land where prescribed fire would be appropriate.