UTAH, Sept. 30, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Thirty-nine firefighters from agencies in Utah are set to deploy to California on Wednesday to assist with fire-fighting efforts there.
The teams will received their field assignments after arrival in California, a news release from the Utah Division of Emergency Management said Tuesday.
The firefighters will deploy from the Maverik Center, at 3200 S. Decker Lake Drive, in West Valley City at 8 a.m.
Their deployment will be for about 16 days under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is a system of state-to-state mutual aid coordinated through state emergency management agencies.
“This EMAC deployment includes two lead officers plus the two task forces. Task Force 1 consists of 20 firefighters from Wasatch County, Cedar Mountain, Layton, Murray, and Weber Fire District fire departments,” the news release says. “Task Force 2 is comprised of 17 firefighters from Lone Peak, Bluffdale, Salt Lake City, and Park City fire departments.”
Task Forces 1 through 4 were deployed to California and Oregon, and Task Forces 1, 3, and 4 returned to Utah last week.
“Task Force 2 from the previous EMAC deployment, which was extended for one week, is returning to Utah Wednesday, September 30. With that return, there will still be only one Task Force 2 on a current EMAC deployment,” the news release says.
Precautions will be taken to protect the health and safety of the deploying firefighters and those they will be assisting during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the news release. A representative from the Utah Department of Health will be at the Maverik Center to review COVID-19 safety measures and to take the temperature of each firefighter before departing.
