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Duchesne County officials outline wildfire mitigation progress, burn plan and emergency training
Summary
County staff told commissioners they have applied for a $67,000 state mitigation grant, have roughly 29 acres of fuels work complete, are developing a burn plan for a 16‑acre county parcel and expect to finish red‑card certification for personnel by April 1.
County staff gave commissioners a multi‑part update on wildfire mitigation, emergency training and interagency coordination at the Jan. 5 Duchesne County Commission meeting.
The county applied for a $67,000 state mitigation grant to focus work inside a red‑outlined area on the presenter’s map, Speaker 5 said. "So it's a $67,000, that would help help us with our efforts to to mitigate that area," Speaker 5 said, describing roads and stretches of right‑of‑way targeted for clearing and piling. He said crews have hauled material to a 16‑acre county property and are preparing a burn plan for Big Pinion and adjacent sections when weather permits.
Speaker 5 gave detailed project metrics: about 29 acres are complete, 11 acres were refurbished, and the crew estimates work averages about 2.4 days per acre. For planning purposes he estimated a five‑person crew for about three months at roughly $60,000 in wages, plus about $1,500 per day for equipment, fuels and consumables.
The presenter also reported on operational readiness: Engine 5 remains on call, and the county began a 'red card' certification process for personnel with a goal to complete testing and paperwork by April 1. On training, Speaker 5 said a recent 40‑hour HAZMAT class started with 14 students, stabilized at 10 attendees and resulted in six immediate passes (reported as a roughly 43% immediate pass rate for that cohort); two county participants failed portions and are expected to retake assessments.
Speaker 5 described coordination with the county fire warden and partners including Brandon Peck and Mountain West; he singled out a new road builder, Travis Roberts, as producing higher‑quality access roads that would help long‑term mitigation efforts. Commissioners thanked staff for visible improvements and emphasized the economic importance of keeping key highways open during incidents.
Next steps: staff will pursue the state mitigation grant, finalize the burn plan for the county parcel when conditions allow, complete the red‑card certification process by the stated April 1 target and continue outreach for controlled, managed slash drop‑off sites on county property. The presenter said he would manage the proposed controlled burn area and asked commissioners to restrict it to natural vegetation (no rubbish).
