Lone Peak Conservation Center History
The center's name "Lone Peak" refers to the wilderness area and mountain peak east of our offices in the heart of the Wasatch Front Metropolitan Area (Salt Lake City). Lone Peak Conservation Center is a fire management program with Utah's Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
Lone Peak Conservation Center was initially formed in 1978 to provide outside rehabilitative work for inmates at the Utah State Prison, and to meet forestry and fire control statutory responsibilities. Funding constraints and new standards for security and certification for worker safety required a change away from inmate employment.
In the year 2000, the Lone Peak Conservation Center expanded its professional fire management service, by organizing several state agency forestry fire crews and college internships for wildland fire fighters. This new strategy complimented the National Fire Plan's efforts to reduce fire hazards in the wildland urban interface and improve forest health through the Healthy Forests Initiative.
Lone Peak Conservation Center hires more than 100 state employees to fight wildfires, reduce hazards to communities at risk of fire, and improve forest health.
Natural Resource and fire management projects are an integral part of the Center program. All crews are expected to complete project assignments when not engaged in fire suppression. Crews set up field camps for up to 8 days. Camps can be remote and provide only primitive living conditions. Project work is scheduled for each crew particularly during the shoulder months of the fire season (spring and fall) providing the best opportunities for this type of work. Fire crews must take all of their fire equipment to these camps and remain "on call" for any fire assignment.
Lone Peak has many programs, but none more unique than the firefighter internship program with Utah Valley University. We teach and employ students enrolled at UVU's Fire and Rescue Academy. Students can earn up to 15 college credit hours during the summer internship. Students are assigned to the UFRA wildland fire crew or anyone of our other crews. This engaged learning opportunity applies the UVU classroom to the front lines of wildland fire application.
Another program unique to any state government is the Lone Peak Hotshots. This specialized crew is the only state managed Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) and is listed in the National Mobilization Guide. The crew was established through a partnership with the USDA Forest Service Region R-4 and Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. Lone Peak IHC works on fire management projects for the state and is directed by the Geographical Area Coordination Center for fire assignments.
The Center also manages several fire engines, initial attack fire crews (Twin Peaks) and forestry crews (Fuels and Dromedary crew).
Fitness and a healthy diet are important during the off-season and mandatory during the fire season. Crew members are encouraged to keep up a regimented fitness program during the winter months. The wildland firefighter profession attracts individuals that enjoy testing their endurance and a fondness for out of door activities.
With foresight and an interest in supporting our efforts, the state assisted in the construction of a new home office and training facility in Draper, Utah, dedicated to the first State Forester for Utah, Paul L. Sjoblom. Other facilities include a small engine repair shop, fire engine work bays and a fire equipment cache.
Crews are transported to assignments and work out of crew haul vehicles. Each vehicle sustains a seven-person initial attack squad and all their specialized equipment to fight wildfires. Fire engines are also specifically designed for the rugged task of fighting forest and range land fires.
The "light" wildland fire engine used in the Lone Peak program has been redesigned to be foam capable, carry 325 gallons of water and enough storage to support a three-person crew's fire fighting efforts for 14 consecutive days. New "heavy" fire engines, designed to provide structure protection in wildland fire interface zones, will be deployed in 2008.
Our fire season starts in April and runs through November. Visit the individual crew pages on this site to learn more about the Lone Peak Program and employment opportunities.