A half-acre grass fire last Thursday on Bryan Road in Erda was quickly contained by local firefighters.
The blaze was knocked down in a half hour by the North Tooele County Fire Department and Tom Wilson, Tooele County fire warden. It left a swath of blackened, burnt grass.
With unseasonably warm temperatures and dry conditions, its already the fifth wildfire in the county this year — all caused by humans, fire officials say.
“It’s pretty unusual,” Wilson said. “We should have a foot of snow on the ground.”
The only full-time wildland firefighter in the county, Wilson said the 147-acre wildfire in the beginning of February in the Tintic Mountain’s Black Rock Canyon was an indicator of the unusually dry conditions.
Jason Curry, public information officer for the Division of Forestry, Fires and State Land, said the size of the fires because of warm temperatures and lack of precipitation is a concern.
“The fires in February have gotten larger than most we see this time of year,” he said.
According to the National Weather Service, the majority of Tooele County only received between 25 and 50 percent of its average precipitation in January. The majority of the county saw below average precipitation in November and December of 2014 as well, according to the same data.
There is some hope for relief as the weather service predicts increased precipitation as winter winds down, Curry said.
Wilson said the fast start to the wildfire season could become more normal if projections used by the state Division of Forestry, Fires and State Land are accurate.
“We’re kind of going into a trend,” he said. “The predictive services show it’s just going to get worse over the next 50 years.”
Dry grass and other fuel for wildfires remain from last year and with little new, green growth, it remains primed for additional fires, Curry said.
One advantage to the warm weather is homeowners can get out and clear yard waste and other plant debris on their property to help prevent the growth and spread of fires, Curry said. All of the wildfires in the county have been caused by humans but they can have a hand in preventing them, he said.
‘We’re really counting on people to be smart,” Curry said.