Last year, 995 acres were treated with herbicide at Ogden Bay and 343 acres at Farmington Bay. About 60 percent of the treated area at Farmington have been burned.

"The plan is to treat 1,300 acres a year," said Randy Berger, northern region wetlands manager for the DWR.

"Our goal is to have treated 10,000 acres above the dikes (on managed areas) over the next 12 years. Phragmites are still expanding below the dikes, towards the (Great Salt Lake). That's something we'll also have to deal with."

The reed is also showing up in other areas, including on private land.

Berger said he's getting calls from businesses and private landowners looking for help in controlling phragmites.

The larger wildfire happened on what Bachman called, "one of the worst days," mainly because of the winds.

Fuel loads, he added, were excessive, "as portions of the area have not burned in over 30 years."

"Poor visibility and smoke and heat exposure affected personnel," he said. "Smoke direction was undesirably toward urban areas, and ash fall was reported as far away as Cache Valley. Fire consumed four willow and cottonwood trees that were preferred as roosting habitat by wintering bald eagles."

There is some debate over how phragmites came to North America. Some suggest it is native, while others say it was introduced. As mentioned, it is an ornamental plant that can be purchased from a local gardening store.

Here in Utah, it was found in small pockets until the flooding of the Great Salt Lake back in the 1980s. The rising waters of the lake covered and killed much of the wetland vegetation. When the waters receded, "vegetation was gone from just about every marsh around the lake," said Tom Aldrich, migratory bird coordinator for the DWR. "In this situation, the plants that have the advantage are the salt-tolerant, very aggressive species, like phragmites.

"It grows so tall and so thick, there's no understory below. No other plants can grow. Now we have these huge monotypic stands of phragmites. It has really taken over the marshes."

A single seed, through rhizomes, can develop into huge stands of phragmites with more than 200 plants.

Bachman said future plans call for between 750 and 950 acres of phragmites be treated annually.