TREMONTON, Utah — In Box Elder County, volunteers are the backbone of the community — whether they’re helping put on the county fair or responding when wildfires threaten homes and neighborhoods.
But after a string of wildfires across the area in recent days and weeks, the demands on the county’s volunteer firefighters are adding up.
The Little Mountain Fire, Salt Wells Fire, Owen Canyon Fire and Harley Fire have all kept firefighters busy in just the last few days. The Harley Fire came dangerously close to town, according to local officials.
“It’s been busy,” said Shawn Croney, a local business owner and fair volunteer who lives in Fielding. “They keep throwing big things at us, but we keep coming together as a community.”
Croney said he knows firsthand how much Box Elder County relies on its volunteer firefighters.
“You can’t be in Box Elder County without being a beneficiary of the dedicated hours of our volunteer firemen,” he said, adding they've helped him once in a life threatening car accident and lately with our wildland fires.
This week, many of those same volunteers are helping prepare the Box Elder County Fairgrounds for thousands of people.
Trudi Hatch, a local business owner and fair volunteer, and her husband are camping at the fairgrounds throughout the week to help get the event ready.
“It’s just a part of who you are in Box Elder County,” Hatch said. “People have to step up and they do.”
That spirit of volunteerism is especially important in rural Utah, where emergency agencies depend heavily on volunteers.
“Rural Utah, rural anywhere, relies upon volunteers,” said Mark Millett, Box Elder County’s emergency manager. “We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without ’em.”
But this year’s dry conditions have brought an especially heavy workload.
“Numerous of those fires, it just seems like every day brought something new,” Millett said.
The Great Basin Coordination Center helps coordinate and allocate firefighting resources throughout the region through an interagency effort involving federal, state, county and volunteer personnel.
Millett said the intensity of the fire season is also raising concerns about firefighter fatigue.
“The intensity of it all - fatigue for these firefighters, that’s a concern,” he said.
With conditions remaining dry, Millett said the public can help by taking steps to prevent new fires from starting.
“Don’t start ’em,” he said. “Be mindful of what we’re doing until this dryness gets over and we get back in a regular cycle.”
For Box Elder County’s volunteers, the message is simple: The community continues to depend on them, whether they’re protecting their neighbors from wildfire or helping bring a longtime community tradition to life.
