Hideout council hears wildfire risks, agrees to pursue Firewise measures and a town–fire district partnership

Mayor Phil Rubin convened the Hideout Town Council on March 13, 2025, for a presentation by Wasatch County fire officials on wildfire mitigation, who said the town sits in a "high" to "severe" wildfire-risk area and urged a combination of code compliance, homeowner measures and community-level planning.

The Wasatch County presenters — identified in the meeting as Troy (fire official), Clint (fire official) and Mike (fire official) — showed a removal-of-vegetation video and described how fires move faster uphill and feed on continuous fuels between structures. "Fire does tend to burn uphill faster than it goes downhill," Troy said, adding that once a blaze reaches the first structure it can spread rapidly from house to house.

The officials described local vegetation — cheatgrass, sagebrush, oakbrush and conifers on south-facing slopes — as highly flammable, and said some native shrubs release waxy oils that act like additional fuel. They also outlined mitigation measures already available under the town's adopted wildland-urban interface (WUI) code and additional steps recommended for homeowners and HOAs, including a 10-foot minimum crown separation from structures and a more stringent 5-foot noncombustible buffer or "home hardening" zone around buildings to reduce ember-triggered ignitions.

"We want to keep fire on the ground, low intensity," Troy said, arguing that eliminating "ember traps" such as combustible mulch, stored wood and debris near eaves and decks is essential to prevent smoldering ignitions that later grow into structure fires.

Why it matters: Council members said Wildfire is the town's leading hazard and stressed the need to align HOA landscaping standards, homeowner behavior and future development requirements with fire-safety goals. Councilmember Ralph Severini and Councilmember Jonathan Gunn volunteered to lead a town committee to work with the Wasatch County Fire District and master HOAs on public education, coordinated hazard assessments and potential ordinance refinements.

Council direction and next steps included: - Establish a standing committee led by Councilmembers Ralph Severini and Jonathan Gunn to work with Wasatch County Fire District staff and the master HOAs on outreach, a Firewise application, a schedule of community hazard assessments and developer expectations for future projects. - Ask the fire district to deliver a Firewise community presentation and to offer coordinated HOA and community hazard-assessment days in spring/summer; Wasatch County Fire provided a contact number for assessments: (435) 940-9636. - Explore town-level ordinance options to go beyond the WUI code's minimums for new development and developer agreements.

Council members emphasized homeowner and HOA responsibility for existing properties. "The town doesn't...have property. All the property belongs to individuals or HOAs," Mayor Rubin said, noting that the town can still incentivize and lead coordinated action. Fire officials said the district can perform lot-level hazard assessments and provide written verification letters for homeowners who implement recommended measures; such letters may support insurance discussions though acceptance by carriers is not guaranteed.

What was not decided: No binding ordinance changes were adopted at the meeting. Councilmembers directed staff and the new committee to return with a proposed structure, outreach schedule and suggested items for future code or ordinance review.

Councilmembers and fire officials encouraged residents to contact the fire district for on-site assessments and to work with their HOAs; town staff said they will coordinate scheduling and help organize community/HOA assessment days.

Ending: The council closed public discussion by thanking the fire personnel for the presentation and agreeing to keep wildfire mitigation as a regular agenda item while the new committee develops specific education and code-change proposals.