Comments about ‘Quail Fire burns in hills above Alpine, evacuations ordered’

There are reports that the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is sending fire fighting money to Utah.

How can that be?

It must be sent back immediately.

Let the people who built their homes in the path of the fires exercise some good ol' American Personal Responsibility and put those fires out themselves. Why should I, as a taxpayer, be paying for their fires?

Mitt says we don't need more firefighters. Send them all home and let Personal Responsibility take over.

I heard the fire was started by a backhoe. Has there been any call for outlawing all backhoes or making sure they aren't used during the Summer months? Any effort to hold the driver responsible?

The above comments are amazing. I hope that you are using humor (bad) and that you are not serious.

I agree with Meadow Lark Mark - comments are crazy. Must be the heat.

A hearty thanks to those fighting the fires. After helping a few neighbors evacuate, we watched in awe as very skilled pilots flew in dangerous conditions, dropping fire retardant, and water. These guys are amazing. They literally saved a number of homes. Any attempt at humor shows a lack of respect for these incredible people. Thank you.

This fire should never have happened. A careless construction company is to blame and had better be paying a dear price for this disaster. The loss of homes, the loss of beautiful canyons, the loss of wildlife .... this will take 30 years to recover. Accidents happen but there was obviously little if any contingency plan in place by the construction company in the case of equipment malfunction.

I'm afraid one Old Man is not humorous - he is serious. He also has never visited Alpine. Most of it is a suburban setting, with agricultural areas. Should we outlaw agricultural areas because of fire danger? I just hop he doesn't live east of Harrison Blvd in Ogden, because he might get billed for a fire coming out of the foothills.

While taxes are too high, fighting wild fires is hardly a bad use of public money. It is part of the actions of a community.

This is the second major fire in a week caused by hot vehicles being used in dry areas. The fire has already destroyed one of the most pleasant and scenic hikes in Utah County (Dry Creek), and it will cost hundreds of thousands - possibly millions - to bring under control. The owner of that machinery must be held to account. The equation is exceedingly simple: If you plan to be in the foothills, don't create heat in any way. Stay on the paved roads! No fires! No cigarettes! No fireworks! And if you feel that you absolutely must leave the pavement in your vehicle, bring a fire extinguisher with you, for goodness' sake, and stay out of the weeds. This is a tragedy. The beauty lost will not be recovered in my lifetime. Utah County is a poorer place for this individual's actions.

I guess this is the risk you take when you move so close to the mountain. Hope these homeowners have fire insurance.

Be sure your little kids don't go out tonight, get crazy and throw some rocks around. One rock might hit the other one and start a fire. Do you hear how you sound when you blame a car and a construction worker for doing something people do every day? Does blaming each other make it all better for you?
There is more to it this year. It is called climate change. Unfortunately, who knows where this may end. The religious folk have their take on the "fire story" that may come to pass.

The only truly viable solution to dealing with all of these fires in the west, it seems to me, is to secure people, animals, and houses as much as possible, then let the fires burn the mountains.

There are simply not enough firefighters, and the ones we have are working to extreme exhaustion.

Yes, the mountains may be ugly for a time, but we shouldn't put more firefighters' lives at risk. Create the fire line above the houses, then sit back and watch nature do its thing.

@no fit in SG

"There is more to it this year. It is called climate change."

Really? A dry summer in Utah is a reflection of "climate change"? I thought every summer in Utah was dry. You talk as if our climate used to be wet, temperate, and (above all) constant. When did that happen?

Why was last summer slightly cooler than normal? Climate change?

And what caused the end of the earth's last ice age? Check your history, but I'm pretty confident it wasn't the combustion engine or the birth of the first capitalist.

You might want to consider going off the Algore kool-aid.

Scientists do not dispute the fact that the global climate is changing. Temperatures are getting warmer around the globe, this is fact. The dispute centers on whether these changes are natural or manmade and depending on what news source you read there is evidence to support both opinions.

Completely independent of this debate, I feel like as a human race we have a moral obligation to be stewards over our planet (which includes limiting the amount of pollutants we create and release into the atmosphere). I think we've gotten so hung up on whether humans are creating climate change that we're ignoring the fact that pollution is still bad, whether or not it melts the ice caps.

The Alpine web page evacuation map is RESTRICTED to city residents. That is STUPID. Lots of people have relatives there and in the adjacent areas. This is a public event, how can it be confidential?

Kudos to the firefighters and those who are helping the efforts.
Still to come are bare hillsides and the possibility of heavy fall rains and high snowfall accumulations. Soaked ground - and Earthquakes mean the area may well be buried this time next year. Farmington has a nice private golf course located on "The Farmington Slide" - which used to be the mountainside centuries ago.
Building below mountains is risky at best. Rocks roll dowhill and slides are a danger. More so now with fires clearing the brush.
Good luck people, you are going to need it.

coltakashi

So looters don't know where to go for easy pickings (which has happened with other wildfire evacuees). If you want to know if your relatives are being evacuated call them or someone who is in contact with them. Considering no homes are in real danger you shouldn't have anything to worry about.