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The national database of state and local wildfire hazard mitigation programs
serves as a clearinghouse of information about nonfederal policies and
programs that seek to reduce the risk of loss of life and property through
the reduction of hazardous fuels on private lands. If
you would like to submit a program to the national wildfire programs database,
please complete the following form (MS
Word).
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Title: |
Lone Peak Conservation Center, UT
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Type: |
Fuelbreaks
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Jurisdiction: |
State
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State: |
Utah
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Program Description: |
Introduction
The Lone Peak Conservation Center is a program within the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. The Center provides fire management services and is funded solely through income generated from payments for services. Most of the Center's services are for fire fighting, pre-suppression projects, and prescribed burning.
The Center has been in operation since 1978; however, community hazard reduction work was not part of the program until recently. In the past couple of years, community awareness coupled with the availability of state funds and NFP dollars, has made fuels reduction work practical in WUI communities, according to Glenn Beagle, program coordinator.
Labor and Equipment Resources
Labor for fuels reduction work is provided by the Lone Peak Hotshot and Engines crews as well as, from prison inmates. The Lone Peak Hotshot crew is a state sponsored national resource; it is a cooperative program supported by Region 4 of the US Forest Service. They are generally available for about 6 months of the year. Fire managers organize a short crew to do fuel reduction during the shoulder months of the fire season.
The Lone Peak Engines includes six engine crews that are deployed as single resources. They each use a type 6 engine with a crew of three. They are available a minimum of 5 months and may be detailed anywhere in the United States. They have been a good resource for clearing individual lots in communities.
Two, 20 person inmate crews travel and set up spike camps anywhere in the state. They also travel and fight fire in the western United States. These crews are available year round but the majority of work is done from February through November.
All of the crews have individual resources including cell phones, satellite phones and credit card purchasing authority. They take care of their own logistical supplies, fuel, food, and lodging. Crew resources also include a mobile saw shop and truck-mounted 160 gallon capacity terra torch.
The Lone Peak crews meet all of the National Wildfire Coordination Group's standards for experience and training. All crew members are trained to operate chainsaws. Several Crew supervisors are "C" level saw certified.
Implementation of Projects
All crews may be used for any application. Crews have worked for private landowners, state lands, ski corporations, mining interests, wildlife resources, USFS, and BLM. Individual lot clearing and hazardous tree removal lends it's self to using engine crews of three people. Engine crews have also been combined (18 people) to build fuel breaks. The 20-person inmate crews have been split up to perform individual lot clearing, thinning along roads, and creating shaded fuel breaks. The Lone Peak Hotshot crews have also worked to clear hazard trees and have thinned trees along access roads to subdivisions.
Crews rely heavily on chainsaw use and hand piling around structures in the WUI. Chipping of woody material has been conducted recently with state-owned chippers.
The program coordinator estimates that crews have created 6 miles of shaded fuel breaks, 6 miles of roadside thinnings, and at least 30 acres of fuels reduction on individual home lots during the last field season. Crews have provided fuel modifications with 2001 NFP funds in the following areas.
Sundance Ski Resort in Sundance
Woodland Hills subdivision in Payson
Duck Creek subdivision in Southern Utah
Pine Valley subdivision in Pine Valley
Brian Head ski area in Brian Head
Cardiff Fork in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Salt Lake County
Dixie Deer community near St. George
Pole Patch Subdivision in North Ogden, Utah
Nordic Valley Ski area in Liberty
Sunnyside Community Fuel Break near Price
Camp Williams (National Guard) fuel reduction Study
Moab fuel reduction along river (FEMA Project)
With the increased coordination and mobilization of homeowner associations, along with the National Fire Plan funding, Mr. Beagle anticipates that the crews' workload will increase four-fold. He feels that they have the resources to handle the increased demand.
Contact Information
For more information, contact Glenn Beagle at his email address.
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