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Show News a SOUTIKSN UTAH NEWS WEDNESDAY JUNE IS, lt7 BLM forecasts summer fires-s- o use caution at all times In spite of all the spring throughout the summer until late storms, the latest data gathered September to handle fire starts, The Cedar City airtanker re- by the BLM reports that the and juniper are not re- - load base was ready for use May covering from the previous years 15, even though last year no fire drought, forecasting an early retardant was pumped until June 1. Fire officials from oilier summer fire alert. manstates are reporting very dry According to BLAfs fire This allows the provider to pocket about eight to 10 percent of the loan a referred customer receives, which goes over and growing fast. For older above normal loan rests rou- homeowners who are looking for finely provided by legitimate a way to tap into the equity they reverse mortgage lenders and counselors. Usually the cus- tomer doesn't know about the hidden fees until the service pro-vider delivers the loan check. To avoid such referral fees, homeowners to turn their home withinto cash check the company out with the spendable equity out having to make monthly in- - Better Business Bureau before terest or principal payments, signing any contract. Under a reverse mortgage, the lender sends the borrower money A new study conducted by SMR Research Corporation shows that the number of eq-uity-ric- h seniors is huge and via a conditions and its expected that retardant will be flown to where its needed throughout Utah and the southwest. According to Bott, there are two exciting changes in the way show that the pinyon and juni- - fires will be handled this year. per are not recovering, but the There will be a fire page on the grass and sagebrush are doing Internet where the public and well. The conclusion is that the media can get regular fire up- moisture in the soil is very shal- - dates, and an integrated fire low. management program which is The Palmer Index, which is being proposed between the one of the methods of measuring BLM, FS, NPS, BIA and the soil moisture, shows the mois- - Utah Division ofForestry. These ture is m the top eight inches of programs may be in place before the soil, which is considered to the fire season is in full swing be moderate drought conditions, this summer. The cooperative This kind ofinformation leads effort between agencies would fire officials to predict big grass enable fire suppression person- fires instead of the large pinyon r.el and equipment to mobilize and juniper fires experienced in faster and more effectively, and 1996, but we are not out of the keep fire size small. woods because there is little re- In 1996, Cedar City BLM spent in the and junirevery pinyon nearly half a million dollars in Beaver said Bott. and Iron Counties on per, The BLM has hired additional fire suppression. This is an ex- people to give the fire crews some ample offederal tax dofiarelsm- relief, and expects to be able to ing beck to the people. The have fire crews available money was spent on landing fees payout, a or monthly check. The homeowner is not required to pay back any of the loan advances or interest until the loan term is over. Generally, no repayment is due until the borrower no longer occupies the house. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns older homeowners who are considering reverse mortgages, to be aware, howare ever, that scams and rip-off-s on the increase in this market Many senior homeowners who but are not only equity-rich- , cash-poohave become the prime target for telemarketing operations. Be particularly cautious when approached by telemarketer service providers" who claim to offer Tree in formation on how to turn your home equity into cash. In the end, such service providers charge seniors thousands of dollars fordoing little more than referring their loan application and personal financial profiles to mortgage lenders and life insurance agents. These service providers typically try to persuade the homeowner to apply reverse for a large, lump-sumost or to invest and mortgage all of the cash into an annuity sold by an insurance company. line-of-cre- dit lump-su- m , , r, fly-by-nig- ht m i f 4 - I l i t t at airport, fuel, motels for pilots, equipment, food and supplies for fire fighting personnel pur-piny- on chased at local stores, and rental of public buildings and facilities for fire camp locations. Although this money came back to the local economy, there were extensive losses as well. Local ranchers lost range forage, fences, hay stacks and cattle. Private landowners lost outbuildings and structures, and homes were in threat. Deer, cougar and other wildlife were lost because they couldnt outrun the fire. We ask that everyone use cau- tion while using public lands, Make sure that all campfires are contained and the campfires 18 if Continued from Page 1 Gore campaign, tripped over the limitations of the Antiquities Act which limits the size under- lying rational for monuments and the requirements of the Federal Land Policy Manage- ment Act which requires notice and comment |