County fire liaison urges Fairfield to join state'cooperative wildfire program, outlines $19,000 participation plan

Garrett Nelson, a liaison with the Utah County Fire Department and State Lands, told the Fairfield Town Council on Feb. 19 that Fairfield is registered for Utah's Cooperative Wildfire System and is eligible for state-led suppression and reimbursement once the town meets a participation commitment.

Nelson said the town's calculated obligation for the coming year is roughly $19,000 and explained the money can be applied to three categories the program tracks: mitigation (fuel reduction), preparedness (equipment, radios, hydrants) and prevention (community education). "Mitigation is fuel reduction, basically," Nelson said. "The prevention side of it is education... The preparedness would be as in the city, has a fire department, buys equipment, buys radios."

Why it matters: Under the cooperative system the state assumes the operational cost for large wildfire suppression, Nelson said, which can shield small towns from very large bills if incidents escalate. He also told council members the program allows capital purchases such as water storage "pools" for helicopter dipping, brush trucks and other equipment to count toward the town's participation commitment.

Details from the presentation: Nelson said retention ponds or "pools" could be built so aviation assets can refill quickly, and that aviation crews recommended a depth of about 10 feet for ponds to support large helicopter buckets. He described the program's accounting rules: capital purchases can be amortized or carried forward; mitigation projects generally qualify for shorter carryover periods (Nelson said mitigation carryover is limited to three years, with other capital carryovers set at up to five years).

Nelson also said the state is auditing the satellite-driven risk maps used to set participation obligations to avoid overcharging communities. "Some of the data I've looked at is debatable whether it's true to what we're seeing actually on the ground," he said. He added the state typically bills federal partners to recoup large suppression costs and that, statewide, the accounting averages around $90 million a year billed for reimbursement.

Council discussion and next steps: Council members asked about operations they could undertake locally to meet program requirements, including mowing, pinyon-juniper removal and placing hydrants next to retention ponds. Nelson said mowing is viewed by his program manager as only a temporary solution but that removal of pinyon-juniper and contracted fuel reduction work can be counted. He said the city's purchase of hydrants or water infrastructure would also count if those costs are documented in the participation reporting.

On volunteer firefighting and apparatus, Nelson described options including buying a surplus or used brush truck and establishing a local volunteer response. He said volunteers would need basic training and a fire-department identification process (an FDID through the state fire marshal) to be allowed to operate under delegation on incidents where federal standards apply. "If you don't meet all the federal standards, you can't fight fire on those incidents anymore," he said, adding mutual-aid agreements and local mutual response would remain important.

Council members expressed interest in the retention-pond idea and in exploring the purchase of a brush truck, but also raised concerns about sustaining volunteer staffing and insurance/liability for volunteers. Nelson recommended limited volunteer training focused on life-safety and defending structures and said some federal programs supply surplus apparatus but that equipment provided under those programs may be reclaimed if the federal program changes.

Ending: Nelson offered to help the town coordinate where the participation funds could be spent and to identify grants or programs for education and mitigation work. He did not present a formal motion; the council asked staff to continue discussions and said they would consider the program in future budget planning.