Update:
- August 19th - The Huff Creek wildfire, nine miles east of Coalville, was declared 80 percent contained Sunday Night
Go to story...
- City officials are recommending residents who live below the area devastated by the Springville Fire make sure they have homeowner insurance covering floods and mudslides.
Go to story...
- Conditions are so dry in Utah that Gov. Mike Leavitt announced that all fires, even fires in developed campgrounds and picnic areas, are prohibited until further notice.
Details...
Coalville Fire Update
(Salt Lake City-AP) -- The Huff Creek wildfire, nine miles east of Coalville, was declared 80 percent contained tonight.
It has burned through more than two thousand acres of grass, brush and pockets of aspen and mixed conifer, and continues to burn in grass, sagebrush and oakbrush.
No structures have burned.
The fire currently is creeping under the oakbrush canopy and could threaten structures, gas lines and power lines.
A crew of 230, aided by three helicopters and ten engines, was working to encircle the fire with hand-dug and bulldozed lines. Officials say the fire could be fully contained by tomorrow evening.
The fire appears to have been caused by people and is under investigation.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Residents Urged to get Flood Insurance
PROVO, Utah (AP) _ City officials are recommending residents who live below the area devastated by the Springville Fire make sure they have homeowner insurance covering floods and mudslides.
The loss of vegetation in the fire area has turned it into a potential mudslide hazard, and it could take up to two years for enough vegetation to grow on the mountainside to prevent flooding or slides.
There is a 30-day waiting period after application and payment before a flood insurance policy becomes effective.
Most homeowners' policies do not cover floods and slides. However, the National Flood Insurance Program policies sold through private insurance companies and backed by the federal government do cover those dangers.
"In a flood, everyone loses everything," said Mike Smith, an Allstate Insurance agent in Orem. "No one insurance company could cover that, so the government does. We sell it, but they back it."
Smith said he has never sold a flood insurance policy, but that his office is preparing one now for a resident.
"We do have a lot of people asking about it," he said. "But it's not too popular around here."
The cost of a policy varies by location, but Smith said the cost to insure one home for $125,000 was $236 a year with a $500 deductible.
Campfires Prohibited
Conditions are so dry in Utah that Gov. Mike Leavitt announced that all fires _ even fires in developed campgrounds and picnic areas _ are prohibited until further notice.
Charcoal briquettes in barbecues are banned, but camp stoves that burn gas are OK. The prohibition begins Monday.
The fire ban applies to all state, federal and unincorporated private land in Utah.
The governor urged municipal authorities to enact their own burning bans as well. Many towns and cities have followed suit.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
