A statewide wildfire program agreement, now called the Cooperative Wildfire System, with the Cedar City Council was recently renewed. The deal gives the fire department access to wildland fire suppression resources.
The city previously signed an agreement under the State of Utah’s Wildland Fire Policy Updates in 2017, after it was signed into law.
“This bill gave municipalities the ability to join a statewide fire protection program where the State of Utah will pick up the costs of wildland fire suppression, if the municipality agrees to the in-kind costs for preparedness, mitigation and prevention,” the Cedar City Council packet states.
The city’s participation commitment is $42,826, which the program and department staff covers without additional budget costs.
The program is “basically insurance,” said Cedar City Fire Chief Mike Phillips. The department pays for it through in-kind contributions, such as fuel reduction work along Cody Drive.
Additionally, the department has planned Life Safety Week from Apr. 21-25. Iron County second graders will tour the station at 291 N. 800 West to see presentations from Cedar City Fire crews. According to the packet, the in-kind value of this event is $4,800
“That counts towards it,” said Phillips. “Remember the fire we had out in Enoch by the church this past summer? So I ordered an aircraft on that. Now this is the scary part for me is, if we didn’t have this insurance policy, when I order that aircraft, I’m responsible for the cost of all of that.”
He explained that instead, the program allows the department to request aircraft, delegating the incident to the state that pays for the aircraft response. This is then figured into the department’s insurance premium.
The proposal to renew this project passed unanimously on Wednesday. A new agreement will need to be signed every five years.
Author: Maddi Munro
Photo courtesy of Ken Steele
Editor: Chevy Blackburn
outdoors@suunews.net
