County approves fire warden agreement with state, raises questions about assistant warden and vehicle costs

The Carbon County Commission approved the annual county fire warden agreement with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands after staff described the agreement and outstanding issues to negotiate with the state.

Justin reviewed the agreement and said the current core agreement is the same the county has used for years. He relayed two proposed changes the state discussed with the county’s fire management officer (Rudy Sandoval): (1) making the assistant fire warden a full‑time position and requesting roughly $36,000 from Carbon County to cover the county’s share of salary and benefits (with the state estimated to cover 50%, Carbon County 30%, and Emery County 20%), and (2) the state taking the currently provided winter vehicle and asking the county to supply a 4‑wheel‑drive winter vehicle and participate in insurance/maintenance costs. Justin explained that half of the wildfire prevention funds are used for fuels reduction and other mitigation work in the county.

Commissioners discussed whether the 50/30/20 split reflected population or land area and whether Emery County’s share should be adjusted given wildland acreage. Justin said he did not know how the split was originally derived and that the state had not yet finalized Emery County discussions. A commissioner moved to approve the fire warden agreement as presented (the agreement itself is the recurring annual intergovernmental contract); the motion passed.

The commission recorded that further negotiations or amendments could be made later if the county chooses to change the assistant‑warden arrangement or vehicle arrangements with Emery County and the state.