Section 101 – Division responsibilities for fire management and the conservation of forest, watershed, and other lands — Reciprocal agreements for fire protection.

• (1) The division, in consultation with local authorities, shall determine and execute the best method for protecting private and public property by:
  • (a) except as provided by Subsection (1)(d), preventing, preparing for, or mitigating the origin and spread of fire on nonfederal forest, range, watershed, or wildland urban interface land in the state;
  • (b) encouraging a landowner to conserve, protect, and manage forest or other land throughout the state;
  • (c) taking action the division considers appropriate to manage wildland fire and protect life and property on nonfederal forest, range, watershed, or wildland urban interface land within the state; and
  • (d) implementing a limited fire suppression strategy, including allowing a fire to burn with limited or modified suppression, if the division determines that the strategy is appropriate for a specific area or circumstance.

• (2) The division may:
  • (a) enter into an agreement with a public or private agency or individual:
    • (i) for the purpose of protecting, managing, or rehabilitating land owned or managed by the agency or individual; and
    • (ii) establishing a predetermined fire suppression plan, including a limited fire suppression strategy, for a specific fire management area; and
  • (b) enter into a reciprocal agreement with a fire protection organization, including a federal agency, to provide fire protection for land, and an improvement on land, for which the organization normally provides fire protection.

Amended by Chapter 174, 2016 General Session