From Deseret News archives:
Quakes, slides top list of perils
Since then, Emigration Canyon residents have become wildfire-conscious. They hold "canyon fire day" events and have developed a fire mitigation plan.
Fire danger has been acute during the past five years of drought. But the hazard to Wasatch Mountain residents would be high anyway.
Avalanches
During a typical winter, Utah avalanches will kill three people, "and most of those are in the Wasatch Range," said Bruce Tremper, director of the Forest Service's Utah Avalanche Center.
The center, based in the National Weather Service headquarters on North Temple, issues daily avalanche advisories for northern Utah during the winter recreation season, about Nov. 1 until the end of April. The center advises backcountry recreationists about an area's safety.
Snowmobilers and backcountry skiers are most likely to trigger avalanches. Nationally, in recent years twice as many snowmobilers have died by avalanche than skiers. But in Utah, the numbers are roughly equal, he said.
Severe weather
Steve Mann, co-author (with Rhett Olson) of the book "100 Hikes in Utah," said hikers must watch out for lightning in the Wasatch Mountains, "especially if you're above the tree line."
Mann, an Orem resident, said lightning can strike before storm clouds reach a hiker. "So you see the clouds off in the distance and you think, oh, you've got a little while."
That may be false because lightning kills several Utahns every year. Bolts can strike anywhere, although the Uinta Mountains have been the scene of most recent fatal strikes.
If you're caught in an electrical storm, Mann advises you to get rid of anything metal and don't stand next to tall trees. Look for the lowest point, such as a dry wash. Get into the low point and crouch on the balls of your feet. You make yourself a small target but don't ground yourself more than necessary. Keep your head low.
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