Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Sandy city leaders and firefighters discussed the potential for a large-scale fire at Dimple Dell Park.
- Mayor Monica Zoltanski emphasized preparedness, noting increased first responders and new firefighting equipment.
- Fire Chief Ryan McConaghie highlighted risk reduction efforts and urged homeowner readiness.
SANDY — Could it happen here?
Sandy city leaders and firefighters spoke Tuesday about the potential for a large-scale fire event similar to the one in Los Angeles to unfold close to home at the 630-acre Dimple Dell Park.
The simple answer, according to Mayor Monica Zoltanski, is yes.
"If conditions were ever right, the threat is very real in Sandy, and so we want to be ahead of the game," Zoltanski said in an interview with KSL-TV.
Sandy City Fire Chief Ryan McConaghie echoed those worries.
"It is a very big concern and something I consider one of the biggest threats to our community," McConaghie said. "It could definitely be an issue here if we had the right winds, if we had the right heat, the right dryness — which seems to occur a couple times or more every single year."
Zoltanski said the city in recent years has already taken steps to prepare as much as possible, including hiring more first responders.
The total number of sworn firefighters, officers and emergency medical technicians has grown in the city from 84 three years ago to 101 today, she said.
Additionally, Zoltanski said Sandy has made substantial investments in firefighting infrastructure, including a new, 750-gallon wildland fire truck that arrived in early December.
"This is the third piece of major equipment that we've brought home to Sandy in just three short years since I've been mayor," she said. "We are investing heavily in our fire department and in our readiness."
In terms of readiness, McConaghie said crews have already taken significant steps to reduce risk, including by thinning brush along sections of Dimple Dell and by improving defensible space.
The city also has detailed plans for a potential evacuation if one were needed, he said.
"We have evacuation routes in place currently with signs around the whole Dimple Dell Park to where you can see if there was an issue, which way you would drive and should drive as part of your evacuation zone," he said. .
All firefighters in the city are wildland certified, McConaghie said, with members of the wildland team holding additional certifications.
"I think, largely, the biggest thing is just preparation," McConaghie said.
A team of Sandy firefighters was assisting efforts in Southern California, and city leaders said they were hoping that crew would bring back added experience from the fire lines that would help the city further prepare for worst-case scenarios.
McConaghie and Zoltanski both urged homeowners to do their part to prepare and said they could request firefighters come out to survey their properties for fire readiness.
"It's a tough thing to say we can do everything and prevent it completely," McConaghie said. "We just don't know what Mother Nature is going to do."
