The Risk of Fire in the City of Ivins

Asked to identify his greatest concerns about fire in the Ivins/Santa Clara area, Andrew Parker, Fire Chief of Santa Clara Ivins Fire and Rescue, is quick to name the area in greatest danger—the western side, in particular, the communities of Kayenta and Indigo Trails and the area southwest of Highway 91.

Key factors in his assessment are the continuous vegetation, much of which grows right up to homes and other structures, and distance and accessibility, which pose greater challenges for his department on the western side. “We can mitigate a fire much quicker in town,” he says, noting that Indigo Trails, being just off the highway, is more accessible than Kayenta.

Although he is relatively new to the job, having just taken the position in February of this year, Chief Parker brings two decades of experience as a fire captain, paramedic, and emergency medical technician to his work. As he surveys the 495 square miles for which his department is responsible, which includes Big Red Mountain, Ivins, Kayenta, Hellhole, Coyote Gulch, and Snow Canyon State Park, among other areas, Chief Parker is focused on developing a pre-plan for each area. This would include information on staging areas where the department could locate equipment and personnel to respond to an emergency, access routes, challenges related to the specific terrain, and information on previous burns.

Chief Parker is also looking to do Structure Threat Assessments, a risk assessment of a structure based on vegetation clearance, roof and construction materials, upkeep, and surrounding factors such as wood or propane storage on a property. (Homeowners can request an assessment of their property through City Hall and the fire department will schedule an hour to discuss and recommend fuel modifications with the homeowner.) 

The goals, the Chief says, are “to identify defensible space and to always work with property owners.” 

In meeting with Chuck Warren, a Kayenta resident who is leading the Desert Preservation Initiative effort to remove tamarisk in Kayenta, the Chief notes that tamarisk burns quickly and hot, which makes it a clear fire risk. As Warren is focused on dealing with tamarisk in the Kayenta Wash as a first priority, Chief Parker agrees that that area could be especially vulnerable, particularly as the fire department could not get crews or equipment into the wash. Basically, he says, “we don’t fight downhill, we fight uphill,” to deal with the fact that fire spreads fastest uphill. If a fire started in the bottom of the wash it might need to be attacked through airplane dumps of fire-retardant chemicals since crews could not reach it. 

Overall, the department’s strategy in the wildland interface is to mitigate defensively. That fits in with Warren’s objective of removing tamarisk to minimize fire risk and to preserve the natural environment. The fire department will be applying for a grant which would enable the department to provide crew to assist with tamarisk removal.

Limited resources are a major challenge for Chief Parker and home and property owners in the areas he covers. Limited funds mean that the department currently has one 2-person crew on per day at the Rachel Station in Santa Clara, says Parker. “If a fire call comes in, they jump on the fire engine, if a medical, they jump on the ambulance.  If they are out on the ambulance, then if a fire call comes in, there is no one on duty to respond to the fire call.  “We are attempting to change this,” he continues, “and as of July 1st we are looking to have one 3-person Fire Engine Crew and one 2-person ambulance crew, 24/7/365.  Ideally, we would have this same staffing at our Ivins Station.  This allows us to handle both medical and fire call simultaneously and to respond to any larger vegetation fires effectively.”

The Chief is actively seeking to hire additional firefighter/paramedics as well as seasonal wildland firefighters and working to lobby for additional funds. Funding is shared between Ivins and Santa Clara, but, Chief Parker points out, “much of our vegetation threat stems from Washington County.” He is meeting with the City Manager’s office and the county to discuss additional funding for Santa Clara Ivins Fire Rescue. And, he is “1000%” in favor of citizen support in seeking additional funding from municipal and county sources.

While pre-planning efforts are in progress, the immediate future presents the most dangerous time of year. As the days get longer and the heat increases, the local fuel load becomes ever more combustible. South-facing areas, Chief Parker points out, are particularly vulnerable as potential fuels become pre-heated between the hours of 2:00 and 5:00.