After August wildfire, Bountiful approves $235,618 Echo line cleanup and moves to connect to PacifiCorp

Bountiful's City Council has approved a $235,618 cleanup of its wildfire-damaged Echo hydro transmission line and directed staff to connect the hydro plant's output to PacifiCorp's line rather than rebuild, according to minutes of its Sept. 8 and Sept. 22 meetings. ^[1][3]

A staff report says an Aug. 7, 2026 fire that burned about 16,000 acres damaged about 6.5 miles of the 46-kV line, an estimated 88 poles, in remote, steep terrain. ^[2]

The cleanup award

On Sept. 8, staff told the council it had taken three contractors to the site and that High Country Inc. submitted the low bid, $235,618, according to the minutes. Staff said the work was not budgeted and would likely push the project over budget. ^[1]

Staff said the damaged components could not be salvaged and that the contractor would return conductors to Bountiful Power for salvage. ^[1]

Councilmember Dan Bell said the state was pressing for quick cleanup and that the city could be liable. Power Director Allen Johnson said the city would probably be liable to some extent for injuries or damage from debris or flooding if delays prevented timely reseeding. ^[1]

Mayor Kate Bradshaw asked about FEMA funds, and Johnson said he had received no information and would keep monitoring. The council approved the award 5-0 on a motion by Bell, seconded by Councilmember Richard Higginson. ^[1]

Two options

The Sept. 22 staff report estimated rebuilding only the damaged section at $2,800,000, with $200,000 to $300,000 a year in maintenance, and a full rebuild of the 26.5-mile line at $12,000,000 in today's dollars. It said the rest of the line is nearly 40 years old. ^[2]

Staff estimated connecting to PacifiCorp's 46-kV line along Interstate 80 at $2,509,252, or $3,509,252 including removal of the existing line, engineering, fees, equipment and two years of replacement power. It estimated transmission costs at about $150,000 a year. ^[2]

The report said the city could lose up to two years of generation, which it estimated would cost about $1,500,000 to replace at an average of $75 a megawatt-hour. It said neither option is in the current-year budget and either would need to be funded from reserves. ^[2]

The council's direction

Johnson told the council the Power Commission had met that morning and recommended the PacifiCorp connection, according to the minutes. ^[3]

Johnson said the city's two hydro plants supply about 5% to 6% of its total power resources and supplied about 3% this year because of drought, and that losing the resource for two years would not be devastating. ^[3]

Higginson moved "to immediately begin working with PacifiCorp to get tied into their line, and to remove the old line." Councilmember Matt Murri seconded, and the motion passed 5-0. ^[3]

Earlier fire and planned spending

The city's fiscal 2025 audited report says an earlier fire burned about 6% of a transmission line at the Echo Reservoir hydro plant, and that rebuilding it cost $688,734. ^[4]

Before the August fire, the power department's fiscal 2027 capital request included $1,375,000 to replace Echo hydro controls, according to April 28, 2026 budget committee minutes. ^[5]