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Hideout council members form fire committee, plan regional symposium after House Bill 48 passage
Summary
Councilmembers Jonathan Gunn and Ralph Severini outlined a new vote-supported fire committee to pursue wildfire-risk mitigation, Firewise Community designation work and a multi-jurisdiction symposium involving the state insurance commissioner following House Bill 48.
Councilmembers Jonathan Gunn and Ralph Severini described ongoing work to organize a Hideout fire committee focused on two parallel goals: advancing a permanent fire station and reducing wildfire risk across the town’s Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI).
Gunn said the committee would be co-chaired by him and Ralph Severini and would pursue both station-access improvements (work with UDOT to widen access on SR-248) and a community-driven wildfire-mitigation program. Severini said the group has held open houses with several homeowner associations and will seek a Firewise Community designation. He described plans for public education, HOA involvement, resident volunteers and a multi-agency workshop — potentially in June — that would invite insurance regulators, carriers, analytical vendors and fire authorities from neighboring jurisdictions.
Severini highlighted a recent legal change he said will affect underwriting: he told the council that House Bill 48, signed by the governor roughly 10 days earlier, requires insurers to minimally consider Department of Forestry analytics in property-underwriting decisions. That change, Severini said, increases the value of community-level wildfire mitigation and data-driven planning; he said the state insurance commissioner and staff have already signaled interest in joining a regional workshop.
Councilmembers discussed fundraising for a permanent station and asked for regular committee updates to council. Council asked the committee to bring a brief mission statement and monthly progress report back to the council. Staff and committee members also discussed possible outreach events and summer speakers on fire mitigation, and asked staff to coordinate communications for those events.
No formal vote was required to continue committee work; councilmembers expressed broad support for continuing the wildfire activities and for convening a regional workshop that could include neighboring jurisdictions.
