UTFFEMT
06-29-2005, 06:41 PM
Wildfire danger on the rise
By Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff
Fireworks were the cause of a wildfire Monday evening that torched a tenth of an acre near Wanship, authorities say.
As fires in Southern Utah captured national headlines by forcing the evacuation of towns like Gunlock and New Harmony, the small North Summit blaze showed just how vulnerable areas of Summit County are to suffering a fire catastrophe, Summit County Fire Warden Bryce Boyer said.
"It was started by someone throwing fireworks down over the embankment. It started some of the grass and some of the sagebrush on fire," he said, adding that the fire began to burn around 8:50 p.m. between Rockport Reservoir and S.R. 32. "We had a passerby that saw it and stopped."
Firefighters battle the East Fork Fire, which ignited June 28, 2002, in the Uinta Mountains in Summit County. File photo by Scott Sine/Park Record
Boyer found remains of fireworks in the area but couldn't determine whether they were the type sold legally in Utah. The Summit County Commission recently lifted a ban on the sale of fireworks in the county citing improved drought conditions as a reason to allow retailers to sell them around July 4 and Pioneer Day.
Fighting a small blaze like Monday's costs about $500 when two engines and four firefighters respond, Boyer said.
"Enjoy the weekend but be careful," South Summit Fire Chief Mark Fry warned Tuesday. "I'm always nervous about fireworks."
But residents in woodsy areas like Samak and neighborhoods in Weber Canyon are active in protecting homes by establishing defensible space clearing thick vegetation from within roughly 30 feet of houses.
"We've been quite lucky," Fry said. "We haven't had really any major wildland (fires)."
A wet spring allowed finer vegetation like grasses in Summit County to prosper and within weeks those plants will dry out and become volatile fire fuel, Fry said.
"That's quite a concern," he said. "[Water is] good in one way and bad in another All it takes is a couple weeks to dry out and we could have the same thing like they are having down south."
Weather conditions Sunday forced Boyer to prohibit outdoor fires in the county, Fry said.
"I'm still getting a lot of folks that are burning brush fires without getting burn permits," Boyer said.
For protection, homeowners should clear brush from within up to 60 feet of their houses, North Summit Fire District firefighter Brett Jones said.
"They want to bury their homes in the wilderness," Jones said, adding that homes in Echo Creek Ranches, Grasscreek and Chalk Creek are perhaps most vulnerable.
Overgrown grasses between Wanship and Henefer are starting to dry out in much larger amounts than during past years, he said.
"As you look at the color of the grasses, they're starting to turn," Jones said. "It's light fuel, burns fast and it could go."
Lightning this year has ignited two trees on fire in North Summit, Boyer said.
"With people starting to do fireworks they need to be really careful," he said. "The risk is becoming higher with the temperatures and the forecast."
And fire danger is just as high in Snyderville and Park City as in eastern Summit County, Boyer adds.
"We were up above Summit Park in the pines and that's actually starting to get a little more crunchy," he said about a helicopter flight Monday. "We are starting into the drying trend and the danger is going to continue to increase."
Watching wildfires char Southern Utah last weekend heightened Summit County Commissioner Sally Elliott's concerns.
"I looked at the newspapers and thought, uh-oh, this is just exactly what they said was going to happen," she said. "It's a tinderbox, it's just waiting there for a lightning strike and it just goes crazy they told us early on that with the additional moisture we can expect a heightened increase in fire danger."
For information about borrowing a chipper or for a free lot assessment contact Boyer at 336-3982.
"There's a lot of luck involved," Elliott said.
By Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff
Fireworks were the cause of a wildfire Monday evening that torched a tenth of an acre near Wanship, authorities say.
As fires in Southern Utah captured national headlines by forcing the evacuation of towns like Gunlock and New Harmony, the small North Summit blaze showed just how vulnerable areas of Summit County are to suffering a fire catastrophe, Summit County Fire Warden Bryce Boyer said.
"It was started by someone throwing fireworks down over the embankment. It started some of the grass and some of the sagebrush on fire," he said, adding that the fire began to burn around 8:50 p.m. between Rockport Reservoir and S.R. 32. "We had a passerby that saw it and stopped."
Firefighters battle the East Fork Fire, which ignited June 28, 2002, in the Uinta Mountains in Summit County. File photo by Scott Sine/Park Record
Boyer found remains of fireworks in the area but couldn't determine whether they were the type sold legally in Utah. The Summit County Commission recently lifted a ban on the sale of fireworks in the county citing improved drought conditions as a reason to allow retailers to sell them around July 4 and Pioneer Day.
Fighting a small blaze like Monday's costs about $500 when two engines and four firefighters respond, Boyer said.
"Enjoy the weekend but be careful," South Summit Fire Chief Mark Fry warned Tuesday. "I'm always nervous about fireworks."
But residents in woodsy areas like Samak and neighborhoods in Weber Canyon are active in protecting homes by establishing defensible space clearing thick vegetation from within roughly 30 feet of houses.
"We've been quite lucky," Fry said. "We haven't had really any major wildland (fires)."
A wet spring allowed finer vegetation like grasses in Summit County to prosper and within weeks those plants will dry out and become volatile fire fuel, Fry said.
"That's quite a concern," he said. "[Water is] good in one way and bad in another All it takes is a couple weeks to dry out and we could have the same thing like they are having down south."
Weather conditions Sunday forced Boyer to prohibit outdoor fires in the county, Fry said.
"I'm still getting a lot of folks that are burning brush fires without getting burn permits," Boyer said.
For protection, homeowners should clear brush from within up to 60 feet of their houses, North Summit Fire District firefighter Brett Jones said.
"They want to bury their homes in the wilderness," Jones said, adding that homes in Echo Creek Ranches, Grasscreek and Chalk Creek are perhaps most vulnerable.
Overgrown grasses between Wanship and Henefer are starting to dry out in much larger amounts than during past years, he said.
"As you look at the color of the grasses, they're starting to turn," Jones said. "It's light fuel, burns fast and it could go."
Lightning this year has ignited two trees on fire in North Summit, Boyer said.
"With people starting to do fireworks they need to be really careful," he said. "The risk is becoming higher with the temperatures and the forecast."
And fire danger is just as high in Snyderville and Park City as in eastern Summit County, Boyer adds.
"We were up above Summit Park in the pines and that's actually starting to get a little more crunchy," he said about a helicopter flight Monday. "We are starting into the drying trend and the danger is going to continue to increase."
Watching wildfires char Southern Utah last weekend heightened Summit County Commissioner Sally Elliott's concerns.
"I looked at the newspapers and thought, uh-oh, this is just exactly what they said was going to happen," she said. "It's a tinderbox, it's just waiting there for a lightning strike and it just goes crazy they told us early on that with the additional moisture we can expect a heightened increase in fire danger."
For information about borrowing a chipper or for a free lot assessment contact Boyer at 336-3982.
"There's a lot of luck involved," Elliott said.