The Uintah Fire Suppression Special Service District issued a press release Tuesday stating that they do not support the decision to move the Uintah Basin Interagency Fire Center to Richfield. According to the release, the Uintah Fire District was made aware of the move earlier this year and has not supported the decision for many reasons, including the following: the local fire center dispatchers are familiar with the area while those in Richfield will not be, volunteer firefighters work with the dispatcher’s day to day and face to face, fires are becoming more frequent, and there was no public involvement in the process. The recommendation of the Uintah Fire District is to keep the current fire center in Vernal. “The money saved in moving the center will be lost with future miscommunication and neglect,” shares the release. “Local federal, state, and tribal wildland firefighters do not agree with this decision…If there is a need to have a regional or eastern fire center office, we have plenty of space available in our public safety building to accommodate this.” Many local agencies and citizens agree that the fire dispatch center should not be moved and are urging Basin residents to reach out to the Governor and leadership of state Forest Service and BLM in opposition of the transfer.
