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BLM plans will reduce risk of wildfire near West Valley City

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) In this July 30, 2018 photo, firefighters control the Tollgate Canyon fire as it burns near Wanship, Utah. Mitt Romney is calling for a high-tech early detection system and more logging to prevent wildfires ravaging the U.S. West. The Republican running for a U.S. Senate seat in his adopted home state of Utah said in an essay Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, that government can do more to prevent fires there and other places like California, which is fighting its largest wildfire in state history.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) In this July 30, 2018 photo, firefighters control the Tollgate Canyon fire as it burns near Wanship, Utah. Mitt Romney is calling for a high-tech early detection system and more logging to prevent wildfires ravaging the U.S. West. The Republican running for a U.S. Senate seat in his adopted home state of Utah said in an essay Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, that government can do more to prevent fires there and other places like California, which is fighting its largest wildfire in state history.

By The Associated Press
  | Nov. 21, 2018, 12:00 a.m.
| Updated: Nov. 20, 2018, 4:43 p.m.

West Valley City • Federal officials say they will clear fuels on about 23,500 acres in northern Utah next year to reduce the risk of wildfire.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's West Desert District oversees about 7.7 million acres near West Valley City.

Program manager Erik Valdez says the fuels management projects are aimed at protecting communities and making the land more resilient.

The projects planned for fiscal year 2019 will clear slightly more acreage than in 2018. Valdez says the upcoming projects will create fuel breaks that protect habitat for the greater sage grouse and urban communities.

By The Associated Press