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Provo Fire outlines home assessments, chipper service and community defensible‑space work
Summary
Provo Fire Deputy Fire Marshal Jeanne Atherton described the city’s seasonal fuels crew, a home‑assessment program to create defensible space, a chipping/haul service for cleared vegetation, and funding that comes from deployment revenue and a cooperative state agreement; sign‑ups likely to begin in 2026 using a state assessment tool.
Captain and Deputy Fire Marshal Jeanne Atherton described Provo Fire’s wildland‑urban interface (WUI) program, which conducts home assessments and offers hands‑on assistance and a chipper service for cleared vegetation to reduce wildfire risk.
Atherton explained the concept of defensible space using three zones around a house (a 5‑foot zone, a 30‑foot zone and the area beyond), and said the program focuses on making landscaping safer rather than removing all trees. In response to a homeowner question, she said, "No" — they are not asking people to cut down all their trees — and described how each assessment provides targeted recommendations.
Atherton said the program runs seasonally (late April/early May through August) and relies on a city wildland fuels crew; funding for the program comes partly from revenue the department generates when its crews are deployed to out‑of‑city wildfires and via a cooperative agreement with the state that counts mitigation work toward the city’s participation commitments. She invited residents to sign up via a Google form and said she expects to begin assessments in 2026 when the state assessment tool is available.
Atherton left business cards at the meeting and encouraged neighborhood groups and HOAs to request outreach and assessments. Questions raised about funding, tree removal, and program timing were answered during the Q&A portion of the meeting.
