Hurricane Valley Fire District leaders worry about human-caused fires

HURRICANE, Utah (ABC4) – Hurricane Valley Fire District is welcoming new firefighters, who spent Monday training.

“We just hired a little over 20 new firefighters for our fire district, as we grow in population, our call volume keeps increasing every year,” says Steven Harris, the Captain for Hurricane Valley Fire District.

Just this past weekend, Captain Harris says they responded to a 2.5 brush fire near Sand Hollow and he says it wasn’t easy to contain.

“This fire we had over in Hurricane over the weekend, was caused by an unsafe campfire,” says Mike Melton, the area fire management officer for the Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands.

Melton says he’s worried about human-caused fires as southern Utah continues to see dry conditions.

“You know as people are starting to get out into the woods and recreating, we’re concerned that people aren’t being mindful,” he says.

Melton says he wants people to be mindful when burning and shooting outside. Harris says it’s also important to make sure vehicles are properly maintained to prevent a blaze.

“Check your chains, we get a lot of fires on the side of the roads that are started from chains, and mechanical failure, from equipment,” says Harris.

In the mean time, these rookie firefighters will finish training next month and will be ready for whatever the summer brings their way.