SANDY, Utah — The catastrophic fires in Southern California have many Sandy residents concerned over similarities in topography between the two locations.
Dimple Dell Regional Park in Sandy is a beautiful swath of open land in the middle of a residential area, which has not escaped the concerns of local officials who met about the area Monday.
"The one question on the minds of my neighbors, and friends and residents all around Sandy is could it happen here… yeah," said Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski. "A wildlands fire through Dimple Dell is probably our most likely scenario of a catastrophic emergency."
The mayor met with department heads for an update on how their local firefighters deployed to fight the Palisades Fire in California are doing and what lessons can be learned.
"They were basically all hands on deck and basically worked for two-and-a-half days straight before getting their first break, which is unusual for a deployment," explained Sandy Fire Chief Ryan McConaghie, who added that his crew is doing well and is safe.
Zoltanski pointed out that due to recent increases to the department, going from 84 to 101 firefighters in the past four years and adding additional apparatus and equipment, the city was able to share resources for the emergency.
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"Because we would never sacrifice our own resources to help other communities if we couldn’t cover our own bases," added McConaghie.
Because it will be reimbursed on a state and federal level, McConaghie says the deployment allows his teams to learn critical skills that will benefit Utah.
"Never before this interview, this conversation I’ve considered the possibility of a wildfire going down Dimple Dell, even though we live so close here, I’ve never thought about that possibility," said local mother, Cara Peper.
Peper says she is often concerned about the wildfire risks in Utah, but admitted she embarrassingly hasn’t considered the risk in her own backyard.
"My kids love it here, we love it here, we utilize this space a lot, so yeah, all for that, all for fire mitigation work at Dimple Dell," she said.
Maria Saldutti teaches at a nature school at Dimple Dell and says even with its risk, it's important to do what's possible to keep green spaces like the park in local communities.
"It’s really special to be out here," said Saldutti. "There’s all sorts of animals. We hear the coyotes every day, the deer, and protecting it is really important to me."
Sandy's Public Utilities Operations Manager Scott Ellis reported to the mayor that with over 7,000 fire hydrants constantly monitored and checked, he feels like they are ready for anything at any time. The city also has more than 30 million gallons of water stored in 9 tanks that are always full.
However, deputy fire chief and interim emergency manager Mike Bullock added there is a need for the public’s help, as well.
"We have a program called the 'Ready, Set, Go!' program that we can share information and educate our residents to create those defensible spaces," Bullock explained.
Both Bullock and McConaghie spoke about the resources available to residents, including the ability for firefighters to come and check individual homes. CLICK HERE to reach out and have a team take a look at how prepared you really are.
