The North Tooele Fire District is participating in the federal government’s Community Wildfire Defense Program for a second year. Given the number of wildfires in the region this year, the program โ and its funding โ could not have come at a better time. One may think residents in Utah know enough about how to prevent wildfires, given the number of them we’ve seen this year alone. North Tooele Fire says they have had at least 100 wildfires in the county this year.
What the firefighters know, and what caused them to apply for the grant, is that despite the regularity of wildfires, people are still surprised when they happen and also to hear that the fire may have been preventable. “People have this idea that ‘it’ll never happen to me,'” said John Smith, a firefighter with North Tooele Fire District. “It happens often. โฆ People have a misconception about wildfires. They don’t realize that each spark โฆ every fire can be put out with a cup of water, if you catch it early enough.”
The Community Wildfire Defense Program assists fire districts in involving the community to defend against the threat of wildfires that may exist in their towns, including residential properties. The U.S. Forest Service runs the program and it provides funding to the state, which distributes it to the districts that applied and were awarded the grant. The Forest Service encourages firefighters to use strategies they have developed to mitigate wildfires in communities.
