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Show County Fire Plan Outlined Elected officials from almost every town in Garfield County gathered at the courthouse in Panguitch to hear Garfield County Commissioner George Middleton present a plan for fighting county's fires which would involve each town in the county. Middleton's presentation followed immediately after the Agenda for the Eighties final meeting which also drew some of the same people, many of whom stayed over to hear what the county would propose. Commissioners had developed the plan over a period of many months and after studying at length firefighting plans of other counties in the state. The county has traditionally relied upon the efforts of Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other limited government organizations to do its firefighting and has rarely had any money in the budget for coping with fires in the unincorporated areas of the county. In recent years, homes have begun to spring up all over the county in such areas, increasing the risk for homeowners and increasing firefighting responsibility of the county. With less than $40,000 allotted for firefighting, commissioners decided to apportion specific amounts to each community, dividing the total according to number and types of buildings to be protected, the community's need, present firefighting capabilities, and other factors. They drew up a sample contract under which each community was assigned a district which included a portion of the unincorporated area of the county as well as the territory inside its own incorporated boundaries. Under the contract, Middleton pointed out that communities must only agree to try to fight the fires "to the best of their abilities." It was felt that the funds received from the county could be used to increase the firefighting capability of each community by purchasing equipment. Mayor Wallace Lee, Panguitch, appeared to be the only town official openly objecting to the commissioners' nan n 1 ( Vi i if. Vi smA waham.aI . until their respective boards could meet to discuss the proposition. Lee said he felt a 50-50 match on funds would be better. Certain unincorporated areas such as Panguitch Lake and the East Fork area along Highway 12 with the Ruby's Inn area were designated as separate fire districts with residents expected to form a cooperative to make decisions affecting firefighting in their particular area. Comments appeared generally favorable to the plan with Commissioner Middleton asking that town officials consider the proposal and come back with suggestions or alternatives to try to help the county tackle the serious problem of battling fires. A second meeting was set for January 26 at 6:30 p.m. to further discuss the proposal. Amounts were tentatively allotted as follows: District No. 1, Panguitch Lake Area, $4,000; District No. 2, Panguitch City 10 miles radius; Garfield Memorial Hospital, stake center, two sawmills, Bear Valley Junction, Tebbs Indian Store, 55 homes, $9,000; District (Continued On Page Two) County Fire Plan Is Subject of Session (Continued from Page 1) No. 3, Bryce Canyon area; Airport, Bryce Canyon Pines, Foster's, Pink Cliffs Village, Ruby's Inn, $8,000; District No. 4, Escalante; two sawmills, airport, approximately 15 homes, $8,000; District No. 5, Ticaboo, Motel, school, boat storage, approximately 200 mobile homes, $3,000; with $1,000 each allotted for District No. 6 Tropic; DistrictNo. 7, Hatch; District No. 8, Antimony; District No. 9, Boulder; District No. 10, Cannonville; and District No. 11, Henrieville. Under terms of the proposed contract, each district would agree to establish a fire department, use the county funds received for fire protection, provide fire protection to homes outside their town boundaries within their fire district, funish liability Insurance, and answer all fires and fight them to the best of their ability. The county will promise to pay the agreed funds and permit the districts to enter into mutually beneficial agreements with other districts where desired. Each district must provide verification that they have a volunteer fire department before the county will allocate funds. The contract is a one year contract with certain provisions for ensuing years. |