Firefighters on high alert as resources spread thin
Jul 18, 2024, 7:22 PM | Updated: Jul 19, 2024, 8:43 am
SALT LAKE CITY — It doesn’t take much to start a fire. Just a spark or a car driven over dry weeds can cause large fires, like the one that started in Ogden Thursday.
In western Box Elder County, lightning strikes are keeping firefighters busy. But Utah is already seeing more human-caused fires than in recent years.
Kelly Wickens, with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands said with a simple mistake, anyone could start something big.
“Our conditions are just primed for fires,” Wickens said.
Preparedness Level 5 means federal agencies are stepping in to manage resources, trying to make sure crews can be called on when something more threatening does happen.
“We’re pretty high on the list because we have had some large fires,” Wickens said. “And our conditions are in a situation where we need to be ready to fight fire at a moment’s notice.”
It also means everyone has to do their part following fire restrictions, being careful with fireworks, and really anything else that can light a spark.
With our conditions so hot and dry, we just have to remain super vigilant, and use our fire sense,” Wickens said.
The Tangent Fire, burning west of the Great Salt Lake, is now mostly contained at just under 500 acres.
A few more fires started in Box Elder County overnight but were put out fairly quickly.
