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New team to address human-caused fires in Utah

UPDATED: JUNE 27, 2017 AT 7:56 PM
BY
KSLNewsRadio

SALT LAKE CITY — A new inter-agency team has been formed to prevent and educate over human-caused wildfires in Utah.

The team is made of experts from the BLM, US Forest Service, and Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.

Fire mitigation and education specialist Chris Asbjorn says people tend to under-estimate the fire danger, and they are not totally aware of all the things that can cause fires.

“Finding out, what are the big issues, and really focus our efforts there. That varies around the state depending on what activity the area sees,” he said.

Asbjorn says once they see better the causes of fires and where they are happening, they can adjust their messaging accordingly. They will get those messages out there through the news media, social media, and in locations where people will see it, like gas stations and businesses and locations where people go before they go outdoors.