As the weather begins warming up and neighbors turn their attention outdoors, Salt Lake City Fire Department (SLCFD) would like to encourage Avenues residents in and near our Wildland Urban Interface areas to begin protecting their homes from the risk of wildfires. You can help your home survive wildfire on its own by creating a buffer to slow the spread of fire and limit embers’ ability to ignite material.
SLCFD and your Greater Avenues Firewise Community liaison are continuing their efforts to form an NFPA Firewise Community in the Greater Avenues to help you learn about and prepare for the wildland fire threat in your neighborhood. As a part of that effort, several service divisions of Salt Lake City (including, Sustainability and Public Utilities) have joined with the Utah Department of Natural Resources – Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (DNR-FFSL) to host a Community Wildfire Preparedness Day on Saturday, May 6th. On May 6th, Greater Avenues residents that are within the proposed Firewise Community boundaries are encouraged to remove brush and other natural fuels from the target zones around your home.
Households in this zone will be allowed to create a pile of limbs and brush on the median area between the curb and sidewalk that will then be collected and chipped by DNR-FFSL in the days following the event. Please refrain from putting materials in the street or gutter even if your property does not have a sidewalk or City right-of-way. A pile will only be eligible for removal if:
1) Your residence is within the proposed Firewise Community boundaries (Enter your address below in the map to find out if you qualify. If the blue marker indicating your parcel points to a highlighted area, you qualify and if it points to the darkly shaded area, you do not qualify.),
2) The size of the pile is equal to or less than the prescribed size identified for the program (Click Here to review) and
3) you fill out an online form reporting the number of hours and resources spent on removing wild land fire fuels around your home. (click here to access the online form).
Please note that this program is a partnership between Salt Lake City, Utah DNR-FFSL and the Greater Avenues community and is not a part of Salt Lake City’s compost program or Call 2 Haul bulk waste program. You will still be eligible for your annual Call 2 Haul collection in addition to this special fuel removal service.
If you would like an individual consultation on how best to improve your home’s chances of surviving a wildland fire event, please contact us to request a free wildland fire home assessment. If you have specific questions about this event, please contact your Greater Avenues Firewise Community Liaison, Shane Carlson, at (801) 596-3939.
To find additional information on how to create defensible space around your home and further harden your home against the threat of wildfires, please explore the links below:
NFPA: Your Home and Wildfire. Choices that can make a difference:
How to Prepare Your Home for Wildfire Tip Sheets:
https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Wildfire/Preparing-homes-for-wildfire
https://www.nfpa.org//-/media/Images/Public-Education/By-topic/Outdoors/7-Firewise-Tips-(1).pdf
Link to Research Fact Sheet Series:
Understanding the Wildfire Threat to Homes eLearning Course: