FARMINGTON, Utah — Davis County Emergency Management will be hosting a monthly town hall for residents.
Thursday’s meeting was about wildfire preparedness. Of Davis County’s 15 cities, eight are along the Wildland Urban Interface.
People like Steve Minch have lived in Farmington for more than 30 years. He said he loves living near the foothills because there’s nothing behind them.
Unfortunately, that means there is plenty of fuel.
“You always worry about that kind of thing when you live in a place where wildfires are a thing,” Minch said.
Davis County Emergency Manager Ember Herrick wants to ensure the community will be prepared as drought conditions worsen.
“Our county fire warden offers free firewise home inspections. There’s also a self-inspection that people can do to look at their property for wildfire risk and take some simple mitigation steps to be more fire-wise,” Herrick said.
Some of those mitigation measures include cutting weeds down around the home, clearing leaves from gutters, and trimming vegetation.
With a new emergency operation center, Herrick says it allows them to use the latest technology to get a picture of what’s going on on the ground - and facilitate it with the right officials.
“If a wildfire or another emergency does kick off, we’ll all be working out of the same room. We have the capability so if we have drones in the field, we’ll be able to see that footage in real time and broadcast and share it with our partners in the Emergency Operation Center,” Herrick said.
Residents like Minch said they want people to be responsible, especially on the trails that sit above his home.
“I’ve talked to numerous people over the years, telling them about all the campfires over the summer. Particularly on Fridays and Saturdays. That is going to be a big issue, if in fact we do get another fire,” Minch said.
He said he’s seen two fires on these hills over the years, but he hopes he doesn’t see another anytime soon.
“When they tell you to evacuate, you’re out of here, you don’t have time to put stuff in boxes,” Minch said.
Herrick also added that it’s important to have a bag ready in case of an emergency.
You can find more information on wildfire preparedness or other natural disasters on their website.
