As drought continues to cripple water resources and demand land management change, there is increasing attention on the risk inherently built into some of the most visited areas in Utah.

Big and Little Cottonwood and Millcreek canyons in Salt Lake County are big draws, attracting roughly 3.2 million visitors per year in an area spanning roughly 80,000 acres.

By comparison, Arches National Park — one of Utah’s beloved national parks — receives about 1.8 million visitors per year.

Amid so much usage for those canyons, wildfire risks persist. But there is momentum to figure out ways to mitigate those risks.

Multiple entities met Thursday in a closed-door session to address fire risks and in hopes of bringing about the necessary ideas and tools for proactive wildfire risk mitigation, like

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