MARYSVALE, Utah — The Silver King Fire near Marysvale in Piute County is burning over 17,000 acres, with about 18 percent contained. It's been a challenging time for personnel out there, but the community is stepping up to help.
If you go around Marysvale, you'll see signs with messages thanking firefighters and praying for them.
"I just love making signs because I get to put all my imagination and creativity on them,” said Ainsley James, a 14-year-old in Marysvale.
It started off as an idea from her mom.
"What if instead of giving them money or giving them food, why don’t we make posters and say thank you and stuff? That way when they come off the mountain, they can see what people have done for them,” James said.
Marysvale is close to the largest wildfire burning in Utah now. James is putting signs around town and tying ribbons on power poles as messages of encouragement for firefighters.
"I really hope to see them happy," she said. "I heard that all the firefighters love to see the posters and all of us waving at them."
Marysvale Fire Chief Jon Christensen said the people are stepping up to help fire crews from all over the state and country who are battling the blaze.
"The federal team is feeding the firefighters, and the amount of donations that have come in for the volunteers, our town center is overflowing with food and snacks and Gatorade,” Christensen said. "All of those things have been dealt with and that is taken care of."
But the Marysvale fire department still needs help.
"My newest truck is a 1995 F-350 brush truck,” said Christensen.
They need new equipment because most of what they have is old and antiquated.
"We had a fire start in the midst of this fire that my town was responsible for, and we rolled that ‘95 truck out to this and then putting out spot fires, and the pump went out on that truck,” said Christensen.
Christensen said theirs is a volunteer fire department and has a very limited budget.
"Fire apparatus is expensive,” he said.
Getting new equipment would help them help neighboring towns too.
"That’s why it’s so important for me to get my equipment up and running because I want to be that resource for them," Christensen said
From wildland crews through the Bureau of Land Management to other cities and towns in the area, firefighters from all over have poured in to help. So to them, James is grateful.
"When I see the firemen come down the mountain, covered black from head to toe, it makes me sad, but it also makes me really joyful to know that they are trying their best and their hardest to fight this fire for us,” she said.
Anyone who would like to donate to the Marysvale Fire Department can do so via Venmo, where their username is @marysvalerelief.
