Setting the record straight.
Nine days ago I posted this photo of the fire scar of the recent Willow Springs fire in Box Elder County and I mentioned the rancher who lives near the faraway clump of trees at left center in the photo. Since the fire was human caused and the rancher lives so close to the scar, some readers apparently assumed that he was responsible for starting the fire.
Since I published that post, I’ve learned some things from locals about the fire and about the area that was burned. The rancher didn’t start the fire and the area that was burned doesn’t belong to him. It belongs to Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
For this photo I stitched the previous photo together with another one that shows more of the fire scar. And more importantly, it shows the larger ‘mountain’ at far right.
Most if not all of the area that was burned is part of DWR’s new Desert Bighorn Sheep Nursery, where desert bighorns are raised so that surplus animals can be transplanted to other parts of the state. The sheep spend most of their time on the more rugged far side of the two small mountains we see in the photo so I’ve never seen the sheep and didn’t even know they were there (since the nursery is new, they’ve only been there for a few months anyway). Bighorns can’t be confined by a ‘normal’ fence so a special high fence had to be built around the 1000 acre facility.
The fire burned one nursery structure and killed three bighorn ewes.
A few days ago locals told me that the fire was caused by fencing contractors working on the fence with welders in tinder-dry conditions without having water or other fire retardants available. That information, of course, was never announced by authorities. All they said was that the fire was “human caused”.
The rancher had nothing to do with the cause of the fire so, based on what I learned recently, I thought I should set the record straight.
Ron
PS – If you’re interested, here’s a link to a video about the new Desert Bighorn Sheep Nursery in Box Elder County.
Sadly familiar. The fire which threatened my city and caused the death of many, many birds and animals devastating Namadgi National Park was started by a fire fighting helicopter. They landed in tinder dry conditions and started the fire with the heat of the ‘copter. They then took off and flew back to base BEFORE THEY ALERTED authorities.
That’s nuts, EC.
😢 One step forward, two steps back. It’s the way “conservation“ seems to go often nowadays. Very sad.
The welding company really should be held responsible. Ron, is there anything we can do from outside? Send letters, emails? I think you have a lot of people out here who would be willing to help. Thanks for this information.
“is there anything we can do from outside? Send letters, emails?
I’d rather not go that route, Ellen. I’m confident in my source(s) but after all, technically it’s still just hearsay. I have no absolute proof.
Setting the record straight — another reason to admire your ethics, Ron. ❤️ Wish I could say I’m surprised that those idiots were out there welding without any fire suppression equipment. (Even our plumber had a fire extinguisher next to him when he was replacing a sprinkler valve in our yard!) I could understand if they tried and the fire moved too fast and got away from them, but to go into a tinder-dry area with nothing is unforgivable!
The three fires here in SoCal are close to being 100% contained (one’s still at 83%) — one arson, one equipment, and one still under investigation — with over 100,000 acres burned. Many people lost homes and livelihoods and several firefighters and civilians have been injured. One of the fires came extremely close to the camp that I went to and at which I volunteer. The road we usually take up there is still closed and I can’t imagine how long it will take the ecosystems to recover.
“I could understand if they tried and the fire moved too fast and got away from them”
Marty, I suppose it’s possible that there’s more to the story than I was told. I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt, if there is any doubt.
Your fires have been wicked. Obviously, we didn’t bear anywhere near the brunt of it but we did have to endure the smoke at times.
Yes,👏🏻 …why we all respect and appreciate Ron.
To weld out there in those dry conditions without fire prevention equipment is completely irresponsible.
I think so too, Everett.
Those that caused it definitely should be publically identified IMO. REALLY need to have some required training/equipment in place for the contracters as, often, the workers don’t have a clue.
SO sad to lose the yews and pasture for a successful program. ;(
Glad the farmer didn’t cause it – most here are pretty careful about that and thx for clarifying that. 🙂
“most here are pretty careful about that”
Most ranchers and farmers around here are pretty careful about it too, Judy. Usually very careful. Fire is just about the last thing they want.
Thanks, Ron, for following up with this.
Are they going to be keeping the sheep there, now that all the “lush feed” mentioned in the video is burned up? Or will they supplement until the grasses recover? The sheep have got to be pretty traumatized – being netted, slung around under that helicopter, carted around in that metal cattle truck, with tracking collars and ear tags and then their new home set on fire. Is bighorn sheep hunting a big deal in Utah?
“Are they going to be keeping the sheep there, now that all the “lush feed” mentioned in the video is burned up?”
That’s a very good question, Carolyn. I wondered the same thing.
I guess it depends on how you define “big deal”. The fee for a bighorn sheep (either species) hunting license in Utah is $2293.37. Sounds like a big deal to me.
There have been local SoCal wildfires that have started due to some type of construction/repair activity. A neighbor had part of their house burned by a plumber using a torch.
This kind of thing seems to happen all too often. I am astonished by the apparent lack of caution and fundamental preparedness. Stupidity or unjustified over confidence?
These are preventable. I just don’t get it.
“These are preventable. I just don’t get it.”
Neither do I, Michael. You’d think construction companies would cover their ass out of an abundance of caution.
Maybe they just know they won’t be held responsible?
“Appalling irresponsibility”, as Susan said ,is surely right. I truly
enjoyed seeing those sheep flying at top speed toward their new habitat. I’ll bet that it seemed like heaven to them, compared to their old home. Humans giving, and humans taking away……at least in
this case, the animals got SOMETHING out of it……
Kris, I’m glad you watched the video. I think it provides an interesting perspective on the whole situation.
Rather appalling irresponsibility on the part of the fencing contractors. Were they held accountable for the damage the fire caused in any way? IMO they should have been!
“Were they held accountable for the damage the fire caused in any way?”
Sue, I have no idea but I strongly doubt it. Just like the construction folks that caused the recent Antelope Island fire, the authorities didn’t ID them, or as far as I know, hold them accountable.
Our politicians are pretty tight with the construction industry.