Newly-approved funding helps clear fuels for wildfires near homes
Jul 1, 2024, 6:19 PM
(Mike Anderson, KSL TV)
OGDEN — Firefighters in Ogden are working to prepare and protect high-risk areas from wildfires, thanks to new state funding approved in early 2024.
The funding is aimed at areas in the wildland-urban interface, where a lot could be lost quickly in the right conditions. This is something that almost happened to Ryan Bessey two years ago.
“The fire started on the other side of that hill over there,” Bessey said. “Because of the winds that it very quickly came over that hill just v’d up the mountain.”
On Labor Day in 2022, the human-caused Valley Fire devoured about 20 acres. It forced evacuations as it quickly approached several homes overnight, but luckily, firefighters prevented the fire from destroying homes.
#ValleyFire resources worked through the night. Fire activity increased around midnight and about 10 houses were evacuated but no structures were lost. The down canyon winds and warm temperatures caused challenges. Currently, resources continue to work the lines. #FFSLKW pic.twitter.com/q4TVex0z1z
— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) September 7, 2022
To prevent wildfires like the Valley Fire from threatening homes, Weber County Fire Warden Richard Cooper and another landowner worked to get grants to better protect the area for the future.
“(The Valley Fire), kind of, so to speak, solidified. Yeah, we definitely have a high risk here,” Cooper said.
On Monday, fuel crews from Weber Fire District worked on clearing the invasive Russian Olive trees that can be very flammable.
“Having the funding, to do this work, is essential to helping us protect our communities,” said Karl Hunt, a spokesman for Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
Hunt said the state funding approved a handful of similar projects in the wildland-urban interface. About $200,000 will fund the department’s work for about three years, spanning 120 acres.
Kevin Brown, the Ogden City Fire Marshal, said the funding will also help discourage illegal encampments that pose an even greater risk.
“The vegetation is currently so thick that, it would be tough for them to get out, and they could be injured,” Brown said.
Meantime, homeowners like Bessey, are glad to see work being done that could save homes and lives.
“These are heavy, big trees that would produce a lot of fuel,” Bessey said.
He also would like to see a bit more help for homeowners to clear the brush on their own like having the city provide large dumpsters where they could leave the fuels they clear.
Utah receives federal funding to help reduce risk of wildfires