Five Utah wildfire crews fight 400,000-acre Arizona fire

SALT LAKE CITY — With the risk of wildfires in Utah low, five Utah wildfire crews — 100 firefighters — are fighting the massive 400,000-acre Wallow fire in southeastern Arizona, to date the second-largest in that state's history.

Six of Utah's 15 other wildfire crews are also deployed to fires in Arizona, New Mexico and Florida, leaving four crews still in state. Those crews, which are 20-person teams, do not include additional three- to four-person engine companies.

The deployment does not leave Utah at risk, according to Jason Curry of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.

"We help them out, because we know that they will return the favor when we need the help. We have everything we need right now." Were it necessary, Utah could quickly call on teams from Idaho and other places, he added.

The seven-day outlook for large wildfires is currently "little or no risk" throughout most of the state. Some parts of southern Utah are rated slightly higher, or "low risk," according to the Eastern Great Basin Coordinating Center website.

And the state's fire outlook from July to September is either normal or below normal, depending on the area.

Utah is home to two of the elite hotshot wildfire crews. The Bonneville Hotshots are fighting another major Arizona fire, the 116,000-acre Horseshoe Two, about 100 miles south of the Wallow. That team is from the Bureau of Land Management's West Desert District.

And the Division of Forestry's Lone Peak Hotshots out of Draper have been redeployed from Arizona to fight fires in Florida.

The five Utah-based wildfire crews fighting the Wallow Fire are all hand crews that spend much time digging firebreaks and other backbreaking duties. Those include Richfield-based Fishlake Regulars, the Southern Paiute team, Moab's Red Rock Regulars, and a team of Utah Valley University student interns.

The Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the Northern Utah Regulars have teams "pre-positioned" for fighting wildfires in New Mexico. A hand crew from the state Lone Peak Conservation Center in Draper is fighting New Mexico's Gage Fire.

The UVU hand crew is also known as UFRA for Utah Fire and Rescue Academy, a part of the state forestry division. The students get up to three fire seasons' worth of progressively skilled experience fighting fires throughout the United States, and many go on to UVU fire science degrees and permanent careers.