Waldo Canyon Fire costs Springs Utilities millions

Fighting the Waldo Canyon Fire required the resources of several entities, including Colorado Springs Utilities.

According to CSU, services provided include fire suppression, emergency protective services, recovery, support and infrastructure restoration.

The final cost to CSU for these services is about $3.3 million.

CSU told KRDO Newschannel 13 that it does not expect to pass these charges along to its customers.

David Maier, enterprise risk manager with CSU, said it is believed these charges will be covered by grants from the Federal Emergency Management Association.

“We feel the majority of those costs will be reimbursed through FEMA. We do not feel at this time that there will be any significant rate impact at all,” said Maier.

According to Maier, there could be additional costs of around $4.7 mill. in the future for reservoir and watershed remediation purposes.

“We may go ahead and determine that we need to spend additional funds on Forest Service land and our land to make sure that our assets are well protected and the water supply is protected into the city,” said Maier.

The implementation of this plan is still being discussed and analyzed, said Maier.

The breakdown of estimated costs for fire related activities is as follows:

– Fire suppression: $368,000
– Emergency protective measures: $771,000
– Recovery and support: $1,307,000
– Restoration of infrastructure: $1,210,000
– Reservoir and watershed remediation: $4,700,000
– Total estimated costs: $8,356,000