Bill would allow Utah governor to enter interstate fire compact [Video]

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers are strongly supporting a bill that would allow state leaders to enter Utah into an interstate wildfire agreement.

SB 30, sponsored by state Sen. Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, if passed, would give Utah’s governor the authority to enter Utah into the Great Plains Interstate Fire Compact.

The compact, which began in 2006, currently has eight states and one Canadian province: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Saskatchewan.

According to a spokesperson with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, Utah is one of just three states not part of any major interstate compact, along with Nevada and California.

Interstate fire compact benefits

Some of the benefits, according to the DFFSL spokesperson, include:

• “Access to more resources and aviation in times of need,
• The ability to move these resources more quickly and efficiently among states,
• The ability to suppress fires that may be …