Kane County fire warden warns of staffing gaps and HB48 assessment burden; commissioners weigh Kanab City agreement

Alexander Larson, the newly appointed Kane County fire warden, told the County Commission on April 20 that the state–county cooperative wildfire agreement obliges counties to maintain local initial-attack capacity even while the state provides catastrophic-fire financial backstop, and he warned that federal staff shortfalls and a new state law (House Bill 48) create operational and funding pressures.

"What our role is is a liaison and operational response position hybrid," Larson said, summarizing the warden position and its responsibilities under the master agreement. He explained the financial split that supports the warden program, saying the cooperators "were 51% funded by the state and 49% funded by our county," and described how that funding is tied to performance and risk-reduction work the county must report to a state Cooperative Wildfire System (CWS) manager.

Larson described limits on local capacity and delegation rules: when an incident involves multiple jurisdictions or unincorporated private land the state may assume command and absorb costs, but each cooperator — city, fire district or county — is required by the agreement to provide its own initial-attack response. "We can't be at all fires at all times," Larson said, pointing to the county's large geography and limited personnel.

He raised short‑term operational concerns: recent federal hiring freezes and cuts have left some U.S. Forest Service and BLM staffing at low levels (Larson said some BLM forces “were at 50%” last year), which reduces available mutual-aid resources and increases demand on county cooperators. Larson also warned of a potentially busy wildfire season given dry conditions and recent early fires in neighboring counties.

Larson highlighted House Bill 48 as a major coming change for the county. The bill, he said, requires on-the-ground assessments of properties designated at very high risk in the wildland-urban interface. "There's no money associated with it, so we have no funding," Larson said. He told commissioners he has seen no definitive state guidance on how many parcels will be included locally but estimated "somewhere in 1,000 to 1,500 properties" in Kane County could be subject to on-site assessment; statewide estimates discussed at a briefing ranged from 80,000 to 300,000 properties. Larson warned the commission that the county will be responsible for implementing the assessments and collecting a fee but that the state has not set the fee amount or explained how insurers may use the assessment results.

On a related agenda item the commission debated whether to terminate its fire protection agreement with Kanab City in advance of a May 1 deadline to avoid a $150,000 payment. County Attorney Jeff Sott introduced the item and summarized the immediate choice: "In order for us to avoid the $150,000 payment, the county will need to decide by the end of the month whether to give notice of termination," he told commissioners.

Commissioners discussed drafting a replacement template for Kanab and other providers that would permit response into unincorporated areas while addressing liability and payment. One option they directed the attorney to prepare was a waiver-of-liability template that could be offered to Kanab City and other providers; commissioners also discussed pay-per‑incident arrangements and special-service districts as alternatives. A Kanab City representative told the commission prior agreements "were a short term fix" and emphasized that any long-term arrangement would require clear indemnification language because a city does not want to assume open-ended liability for incidents outside its jurisdiction.

Legal and process constraints were flagged: a county official noted state code and practice often expect interlocal agreements to have at least a one‑year term, which complicates short-term replacements; commissioners asked the county attorney to draft proposal language and to check statutory requirements before any formal termination or replacement. The commission did not vote to terminate the Kanab contract at the meeting; commissioners directed staff and counsel to prepare draft replacement language and to continue pursuing district-formation and other coverage options.

Why this matters: HB48 could impose substantial staffing and administrative tasks on counties without direct state funding, and federal staffing shortages increase reliance on local cooperators. The commission’s near-term decision on the Kanab City agreement could change who responds to fires on specific parcels and how liability and costs are allocated.

No formal vote on termination was taken; the commission asked the county attorney to prepare waiver and replacement‑agreement templates and to report back.