BEAVER, Utah — The U.S. Forest Service and the state of Utah are pledging $18 million to help with repairs to the Cottonwood Fire burn scar.
On Thursday, Governor Spencer Cox and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz signed papers to formalize the funding.
"This is the first time that I can remember that we’ve ever had the Forest Service, the federal government step up this early," Gov. Cox told FOX 13 News. "Usually we have to go through all the process and it takes months and damage is happening. They’re ready to go right now and these are real dollars we can spend."
State and federal officials visited the scene of the burn scar and the flooding that hit afterward. Work was being done to clean up debris and repair roads that had been washed out.
"It’s terrible. You had 100,000 acres burn and you see the impact the community, to the watershed, to the ranchers, it’s been a tremendous horrific event," Chief Schultz told reporters.
Beaver County Commissioner Tammy Pearson told FOX 13 News that as bad as it is? She is preparing for things to get worse in her community.
"If we do not stabilize the mountain and what the fire damage was, the floods are just going to keep coming," she said.
Beaver leaders are anxious about another round of storms forecast.
"I'm terrified. I really am. I don’t even think we’ve begun to see the worst of it and you hate to say that. oOur only win out of any of this is we haven’t lost lives," Pearson said. "We can rebuild somewhere down the road, but these rains?They’re life threatening."
