HERRIMAN, Utah — Austin Church lives with his family in Herriman.
“We moved here, it was so pretty, green, snow on the ground,” Church said. “Having the hills not so green this year is a little bit more eerie.”
They moved from California just to get away from the wildfires.... just to find themselves right in the middle of another high-risk wildfire area.
“We definitely didn't really think it would be something that we would have to be prepared for,” Church said. “We have a go bag in case we need to go every once in a while. We obviously hope that the hills do not catch on fire.”
Benjamin Porter with Unified Fire Authority said they prepare for every wildfire season as if everything could go wrong, especially heading into this year with drier conditions.
“We have different brush trucks and wildland apparatus strategically placed all around the valley to make sure that we can handle all sorts of wildland fires, whether it's on the urban interface in the mountains or in the river bottoms,” Porter said.
WATCH: Utah snowpack plunges just days before peak, raising water concerns
Kymberlee Gilbertson is from Sandy and has learned about wildfires her whole life, but said the anxiety never goes away.
“I don't want anything to happen to our beautiful nature preserves,” she said. “That's one of the best parts about living in Utah.”
Porter is encouraging homeowners to start clearing dry brush from around their homes and has requests for those recreating.
“If you're going to have a recreational fire on your property… make sure that you have water nearby,” Porter said. "When we're towing, make sure your chains aren't dragging… Make sure that you're not flicking cigarette butts or anything that is flammable like that out of your vehicles, because anything like that can take an entire mountainside.”
Gilbertson said some activities just aren’t worth it.
“It's always fun to have a big bonfire, but at the end of the day, is it really worth burning down something as gorgeous as our nature?” she said. "Just kind of keep in mind that it's not just you at stake, and it's not just the fun of your night at stake. It could be people's lives, animals' lives."
Unified Fire will start deploying teams on April 1 that will be ready to take on any wildfire issues that arise.
For more wildfire resources, visit: nfpa.org.
To check and see if your home is in a wildfire risk area, visit: wildfirerisk.utah.gov.
