Potential Formation of New Fire District- Feasibility Study Report

Fire Warden
Dan Walton

Fire Restrictions 2021

Additional County Fire Information at tooelewildfire.org

Fire Warden

The Fire Warden is an employee of the Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands.  He is contracted by Tooele County and reports directly to Sheriff Wimmer.  This is an effort to have a close working relationship between Tooele County and the State of Utah in regards to wildfire suppression, mitigation, and preparedness.  In regards to wildfire, the Warden is responsible for unincorporated county, state, and private lands.  He works closely with the local fire departments and county resources as well as state and federal agencies to ensure safe, unified, and efficient action is taken in the event of a wildfire.

Fire Warden

Community Preparedness:

One major focus of the Fire Warden is assisting communities in the creation of a wildfire preparedness plan.  It is critical that public education and community planning occurs before a wildfire threatens lives and property.  Having an evacuation plan, a place to shelter, and knowledge of how to best prepare your landscapes and structures to be resilient will reduce the likeliness of loss to life or property.  Anyone can take the lead in setting up community meetings or events to build a Community Wide Preparedness Plan (CWPP).  The Fire Warden and the Wasatch Front Wildland Urban Interface Coordinator will provide an outline and guidance in steering the conversation towards success. The completion of a CWPP opens the door to potential grant money to assist you community with fuels reduction work or better equipment for your local fire department.  It is also the first step towards national recognition as a FireWise community.  (Congratulations to Stockton on becoming Tooele County’s first FireWise community in December 2016!)

Wildfire Prevention:

Community events are a great way to spread public education about wildfire and disaster prevention and prepardness.  Most all of the local fire departments have prevention events each summer.  These bring key players together to spread knowledge in a fun and interactive environment.  With proper planning, a prevention event can include

games for the kids as well as novelties and information packets geared towards disaster preparedness and prevention.  The gathering of multiple agencies provides a great opportunity to speak directly to those who work so hard in keeping your communities safe.  If you are interested in setting up a prevention event in your community the local Fire Warden would like to help.

Open Burn

Burn Permits and Broadcast Burning:

The clearing of vegetation often leads to large piles of organic material that can sometimes best be disposed of by burning. There are County ordinances and State laws that we as citizens must follow in order to keep both the risks of fire escape and breathing hazards to a minimum. In order to ensure that you are not in violation o these laws, and ordinances, always obtain a burn permit before striking the match. A little bit of pre planning is required, but this will go a long way in taking the proper steps to ensure a safe environment for you and your neighbors

There are two open Burn Seasons per year:

  1. March 30th – May 30th
  2. September 15th – October 30th

The Open Burn Permit Application can be found online at:
http://air.utah.gov/OpenBurning/form/index.php

To obtain a burn permit during the closed fire seasons:

  • Residents within unincorporated parts of the county – Contact the Tooele County Fire Warden.
  • Residents within municipalities must contact the local fire department.

Broadcast Burning:

Broadcast burning can be a great option for clearing larger pieces of ground. This will require coordination between yourself and the Fire Warden. A burn plan will be created, a burn window will be sought, and resources will be brought in. As long as all parties agree with the terms, the plan, and are comfortable with moving forward the prescribed fire will be implemented. For more information please contact the Tooele County Fire Warden.

Links:

Contact Information:

Dan Walton, Tooele County Fire Warden
47 South Main • Tooele, UT 84074
Office: (435) 833-8123 • Cell: (435) 241-0027
E-mail: dwalton@utah.gov