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Ashley National Forest fire managers brief Daggett County on staffing, prescribed‑fire plans and fuel projects
Summary
Forest Service fire managers outlined staffing allocations for engines and crews, described multiple prescribed‑fire units and coordination with campgrounds and vendors, and said larger fuels projects are in NEPA planning with an aim to start next fiscal year.
Rich Howe, fire management officer for the Ashley National Forest’s East Zone, told the Daggett County Commission that the forest is preparing multiple prescribed‑fire units this spring and that staffing on the zone includes a type‑4 engine in Dutch John, a type‑6 engine out of Herno, and an incident‑activity (IA) module approaching full staffing.
“The way we're looking at it this year, we're trying to go through we have multiple units,” Howe said. He described a planning approach that prioritizes opportunities that fit current conditions and that avoids displacing campground reservations: “A lot of this stuff with public interest around businesses, around campgrounds, we have a list of what's already reserved, so we're going to be cutting those gates off for those burners when we start having reservations. So if we can get in before, we're going to go ahead and burn those areas. If we can't get in before reservation stops, we're not gonna displace the people while we can't.”
Howe and other Forest Service staff said prescribed‑fire work will focus in several locations, including units near Red Canyon Lodge, Doubt Holes and an area that runs from Glendale Junction down toward the dam along the east side of Highway 191. The managers said they are coordinating with vendors and partners for on‑the‑ground work and with local emergency‑response planning groups.
On larger fuels‑reduction projects, Forest Service staff said NEPA analysis and scoping are under way and that some projects have been delayed by litigation and by technical decisions such as defining tree‑size thresholds for retention. “We are hoping to start that next fiscal year,” Howe said, noting the schedule depends in part on federal program priorities and legal reviews.
Tom Wilson, assistant fire management officer, and Spencer Prophet, a field specialist who leads many prescribed‑fire projects, joined Howe for the briefing and offered to provide contact lists and public‑information materials. Kelsey Virgil, the forest’s education and prevention officer, was also present and offered to assist with outreach and public‑safety information.
The commission asked about ties to neighboring projects and timber work on the Wasatch and Beaver Meadows boundaries; Forest Service staff said some thinning and mastication work is planned to tie into adjacent projects, but exact schedules and NEPA timelines vary by zone. Staff thanked county partners for their support during recent wildfire responses and said controlled‑pile burning from prior timber treatments had been completed this winter.
Forest Service staff said they will issue public service announcements with unit‑level details and will continue coordination with county emergency managers and partner NGOs.
