Some Utah cities shirking cost of fighting wildfires

SALT LAKE CITY — The foothills along the Wasatch Front may be dusted with snow, but the heat of summer will bring the threat of wildland fires, and not everyone is shouldering the cost it takes to fight them.

A legislative bill that may wind it way through the session that begins next Monday seeks to infuse some equity into the cost of fighting wildland fires.

Counties in control of unincorporated areas have paid into the state's wildland suppression fund to help buffer the expensive price tags attached to putting helicopters and airplanes in the skies to reach rugged terrain.

But, increasingly, cities have begun to annex that so-called "urban interface" and have not been able to pay into the fund.

"Every year we have seen an increase in urban interface development throughout the state and with that comes an increase in the need for fire suppression costs," said Dick Buehler, state forester.

The issue was brought up Wednesday before a meeting of the Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee, where Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, said he hopes to introduce a measure to solve the problem.

After the land is annexed by the cities, Stowell said the state has had to go in and put fires out, and "cities have not been real diligent to pay the bill."

Conversely, counties have been reluctant to pony up because of the exorbitant costs. State money kicks in under current law only after a county's suppression budget has been exceeded.

Like the fires they are meant to control, those costs can quickly escalate, with Buehler pointing out that this year has been the first in a long time when state fire managers have not had to ask for extra money from general fund coffers.

The highest past request was for $12 million, a figure that can quickly douse other state priorities.

But because cities and counties can't be expected to shoulder the entire cost of a wildland fire, Stowell has ideas of capping the fees at $50,000 for cities and $200,000 for counties.

Figures presented to committee members show that some small cities have tended to willingly pay their share, with tiny Cedar Fort plunking down $10,000 for its portion of a 2006 fire, while other cities have simply left the entire balance unpaid, including some nearing a half million dollars.

The reforms to the fund have been met with approval from the Utah Association of Counties and with cautious support from the Utah League of Cities and Towns.

A representative from the league, Gary Crane, urged that the reforms reflect cities' varying abilities to pay. A task force set up in 2008 plans to meet next week to hammer out additional details.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com