VIDEO/PHOTOS: Utah has a wide range of wildfire resources staged and ready for a fast response as multiple fires burn across the state. โWe have engines, dozers, water tenders, hotshot crews, helicopters, airplanes, retardant planes, bases all here in Utah,โ said Gary Bishop with the Bureau of Land Management. He said those resources come from multiple levels, including federal, state, and local fire departments. โThat could be Salt Lake and Provo, but it could be small towns like Fillmore or Richfield,โ Bishop said.
But when local help is not enough, backup comes from across the region and country. โWhen we run out of local resources, our circle just gets bigger and bigger,โ Bishop said. Utah has five wildfire dispatch centers, which are all linked to a regional hub in Salt Lake City and then to a national center in Boise. โThey are networked, and they are able to share resources across the country,โ Bishop said.
When asked what specific conditions or triggers would lead to requesting out-of-state assistance, Bishop said, โOne, if the fire that is occurring needs additional resources, we will order additional resources. The other scenario, and this is played out, is we are watching the temperature, the wind, the relative humidity, what condition the fuels and vegetation are in, and then what kind of starts we are getting right now.โ
