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Duchesne County extends drought declaration and OKs cooperative firefighting agreement with state
Summary
The Duchesne County Commission voted unanimously May 18 to extend Resolution No. 26-03 declaring a county drought and approved a cooperative agreement with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands that designates the State Fire Warden to enforce the county's Wildland Urban Interface code.
The Duchesne County Commission voted unanimously May 18 to extend Resolution No. 26-03, the county's drought declaration under U.C.A. —-78-307, for the maximum time allowed after discussing impacts to farmers and a reported grasshopper issue. Commissioner Jeff Chugg moved to extend the resolution and Commissioner Tracy Killian seconded; Commissioners Chugg, Killian and Chairman Greg Miles all voted aye.
The extension followed a presentation by Duchesne County Fire Warden Brandon Peck and Emergency Management Director Josh Phillips on Uintah Basin fire restriction criteria. Peck said the criteria recommend that "When at least four (4) criteria are met, consider implementing Stage 1 Restrictions," and noted unusual early-season spotting behavior in local wildfires. The pair urged continued coordination between county and state fire officials because of severe drought conditions.
The commission also approved a cooperative agreement with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands. During debate the group discussed differences between the county and state Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) maps and enforcement responsibilities; the commission approved, by motion, designating the State Fire Warden to enforce the WUI code in Section 14 of the agreement. Commissioner Killian moved approval; Commissioner Chugg seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Commissioners said the combination of expanding drought conditions and early-season fire behavior justified continuing restrictions and closer intergovernmental communication. The county record shows the extension is intended to provide continuity for mitigation work already underway and to ensure the county can coordinate enforcement and cost-recovery actions for negligent fires.
Next steps: the county will implement the statutory extension, continue to coordinate with state forestry officials on WUI mapping and enforcement, and monitor fire behavior and criteria that could trigger Stage 2 restrictions.
