HERRIMAN, Utah — Residents in high-risk areas of Utah shared how the possibility of an active wildfire season is very much at the top of their minds, especially after some close calls in the past.
Shane Hughes has been a Rose Canyon resident in the southwest Salt Lake Valley for 12 years and said it's the greatest neighborhood, maybe in the entire state. But there’s always a catch, and last summer was his reminder.
“Somebody started ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door, and my rottweiler lost his mind, and then I hear my wife yell, ‘Shane! Fire!' So I jumped up,” he said.
Hughes and his neighbors, who live in Rose Canyon, sit in a high-risk wildfire area.
“When I saw it, it was a wall of fire, 10 feet tall, 25 yards long," Hughes said of last year's fire. "Jumped on my tractor... my first neighbor, he was getting there just before I did. He got there quick, and before you know it, there's five tractors contained, pushing this fire back.
“Thank goodness, there was no wind... it takes one spark, and that whole canyon could go up."
Fire departments join together to share urgent warnings about upcoming fire season:
While the fire that threatened Hughes' home was human-caused, weather always seems to be a factor, but unfortunately, this week's rainfall may not help as much as we think or hope.
“Unfortunately, the weather that we just received, it's a drop in the bucket for what we actually need," explained Kayli Guild with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. "It's going to be just enough to probably green up some areas, but with the impact or the impending temperatures that are coming, it'll quickly dry.”
Hughes admits that he's nervous every single year heading into wildfire season, and has already been preparing for this year.
“My mindset is that the fire department's not going to be able to get to me soon enough. My truck is always hooked up to my camper trailer, I’m ready to go," he said. "So I would say... be ready to get out of there, because if things, if worst case scenario, and the fire's raging, you know, what's your plan?”
Officials are echoing the same message and advising residents to clear brush and build a defensible space around their homes.
“It's more the embers that we actually see that starts a lot of homes on fires, not necessarily a direct impact," added Guild. "I'm talking about the rain gutters, you need to make sure those are clear of anything, debris, leaves, needles, anything like that.”
Despite the anxiety that comes with where he lives, Hughes stays there because, for him, where else would he find support, if not in the best neighborhood in Utah?
“Neighbors were showing up with shovels, neighbors that didn't have tractors, they were showing up with shovels, and you know, rakes and stuff," he said of last year's fire. "In Rose Canyon, we have to just be able to take care of each other and look after each other.”
