Some may think the recent rains have deadened the drought. That may be, temporarily, but the growth created by the rains when things dry out could present even more fire danger according to the Utah Division of Natural Resources.
On Tuesday the DNR sent out a news release informing everyone that open burning season is over and to be careful when having camp fires.
The open burn season for Carbon County generally runs from Nov. 1 to May 31 of the next year. This last weekend was the last period of time in which local residents could open burn. That burning did require a verbal permit from Carbon County Dispatch, but if the air quality was good, the wind wasn’t blowing and the person who planned to burn was in the county and not an incorporated area, the permits were usually granted. Now however that period is over.
The DNR says the official wild fire season has begun, and any burning that must be done outside of campfires or backyard fireplaces can only be done by special permit that must come from the Utah State Division of Forestry.
Every year, hundreds of wildfires burn on private, state and federal land in Utah. Fires occurring on federal and tribal lands are managed by the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Wildfires that occur on state and private lands that aren’t inside city limits are managed by the Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands and are coordinated through County Fire Wardens.
County Fire Wardens work with federal agencies and local fire departments to coordinate the suppression effort. More than three quarters of all wildfires in Utah are extinguished before they exceed 10 acres.
The Division’s Lone Peak Fire Center employs Hotshot Crews, Initial Attack Crews, Fuel Crews and Engine Crews. These crews are dispatched all over the state to put fires out in difficult terrain. When in-state fire activity is reduced, the crews are dispatched to help in other states. When Utah needs help, the same types of resources are dispatched from outside the state. This national resource sharing allows national fire managers to allocate firefighting resources where they are needed most.
The first priority for firefighters is protecting human life, then preserving property and valuable natural resources. Somewhere around half of all fires in the state are preventable, human-caused events.
Carbon County’s state fire warden is Justin Needles.
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