Gosar, Mohave County commissioners press for quicker wildfire suppression, expanded logging and oversight

U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar on Aug. 7 told the Mohave County Public Lands and Recreation Commission that lightning-started fires that ignite in forest areas lacking recent understory or fuel management should be suppressed immediately and that returning commercial logging and local thinning is needed to reduce catastrophic wildfires.

Gosar framed the issue as a matter of public safety, forest health and agency accountability. "If lightning or any other way starts a fire and it hasn't been maintained or has not had undergrowth taken care of in the last five years, you immediately have to put it out," he said during the commission's meeting.

The congressman said parts of the Grand Canyon and surrounding federal lands have far higher tree densities than intended — he…