SWEETWATER COUNTY — The Sweetwater County Fire Department along with Sweetwater County Fire District #1 and BLM Fire Fighters tackled a pair of fires on White Mountain on the night of the 4th July and morning of the 5th.
According to Sweetwater County Fire Warden Mike Bournazian the agencies’ priority in responding to the fireworks caused fires was to achieve immediate containment on the fires. “We were busy throughout the night and into the next day when the rain came,” Bournazian said.
Bournazian explained that the fire scene was extremely steep and dark necessitating a slow and safe approach. The majority of the firefighters were deployed on the top of the mountain but others were tackling the fire from below, “The priority was to prevent the spread on the flanks and base of the fire.”
Several units stayed over night and the morning. Some units went home for a couple hours of sleep then by noon they were contained and crews got off the mountain before the rain worsened road conditions.
SWCFD#1 also responded to twelve 4th of July fires, total including three on the mountain.
Eleven were fireworks related and the twelfth was a structure fire at 3800 Sunset #2. The trailer fire was traced to a short in heat tape on the plumbing. The electrical short started the skirting on fire but never spread inside as the owner was able to tackle the fire with a garden hose.
As part of the mutual aid agreement Rock Springs Fire Department sent out two trucks. The RSFD was first on scene as SWCFD#1 and County Fire were otherwise engaged, delaying their response.
