Park City leaders on Thursday heard the fire season is expected to start earlier than is typical as a result of the recent weather. Mayor Ryan Dickey and the Park City Council received a briefing from Park City Fire District officials as emergency planners are preparing for the threat of wildfir es in the summer. The Fire District representatives, led by Chief Pete Emery, made a brief appearance at the Marsac Building to describe the forecast. The Fire District said the winter temperatures were warm, but the precipitation numbers were close to the seasonal average. Vegetation will grow quickly and lead to a wildfire risk, the Fire District said, describing a prediction for hot temperatures in the summer. That will lead to an early start to the fire season, according to the Fire District. There was no extensive discussion on Thursday, but the elected officials in Park City, even before the meeting with the Fire District representatives, had received information from the municipal government itself about the conditions as summer nears. The City Council recently prohibited people from using ignition sources like fireworks and open flames. That ban runs through Oct. 31. The measure was in response to the concerns about wildfires. Officials enacted the prohibition more than a month earlier than in the past five years. The Fire District chief briefly described the firefighting apparatus that is available, saying the agency has engines designed for responses to wildfires. He said the Fire District increases staffing levels at times when the fire danger is elevated, known as red-flag days. Emery mentioned Interstate 80, where vehicles can create sparks, as a threat in Summit County. The Fire District, meanwhile, said there have been 32 wildfires inside the Park City limits over the past 12 years. Most of them were considered to be small, with responses requiring just one engine. The agency said fewer than 10 acres, in total, burned inside Park City over the 12 years. There have been significantly larger wildfires in unincorporated areas of Summit County or close to the county’s borders over that same period. There have long been concerns about a wildfire spreading through Park City, with the community surrounded by wooded lands. A major blaze could devastate the ski industry that drives the community’s economy, in addition to the potential loss of life and property. The National Interagency Fire Center’s current outlook maps for June, July and August include Park City and surrounding Summit County in an area where the potential for significant wildfires is above normal. The prohibition recently approved by Park City leaders was recommended amid what officials saw as drought conditions and expected continued dry weather. The concerns would mount if the weather remains dry through the early summer. Independence Day is expected to be especially busy as the nation marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. Many in Utah celebrate Pioneer Day, which follows on July 24, with fireworks as well. The post Park City fire season expected to start earlier than is typical appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less