skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, July 27, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

State Leaders Break Ground on New UT Fire Operations Center

play audio
Play

Thursday, June 29, 2023   

Utah state leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new firefighting center to be built along the Wasatch Front.

Jamie Barnes, director of forestry, fire and state lands for the Utah Department of Natural Resources, said the new building is "a step forward for the state's wild land's fire program." She noted the new building will serve as the headquarters for the state's fire program, which responds to fires on state and private land, and also helps support other agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

Barnes pointed out on average, the Beehive state experiences more than 700 wildfires a year.

"These fires pose a threat to public health and public safety," Barnes emphasized. "This new facility will help our state firefighters fulfill their objectives for responding and managing these wildfires throughout the state of Utah."

Barnes added the center will also function as a training center and strengthen the state's wildfire response program. Barnes called it "an exciting adventure."

Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said as the state's population has grown, it has become important to professionalize the state's fire fighting capabilities and the management of public lands. She noted as homes are built in what she calls "places that are less than ideal from a wildfire perspective," like Elk Ridge and Woodland Hills which were threatened by wildfire in 2018, the need for collaboration among agencies is important.

"We need the work, the partnership that happens with the state agency, with the division, the Lone Peak Hotshots and all of their partners for that fire suppression for fuels reduction," Henderson stressed. "For other project works that keeps our citizens safe, improves forest health and protects our watersheds and other natural resources."

The new facility will replace the Lone Peak Conservation Center headquarters, which were located at the former State Prison grounds since the 1970s.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference. The Biden administration has canceled more …


Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has introduced legislation to codify the Chevron Deference into law. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent Supreme Court rulings on air pollution are affecting Virginia and the nation. Climate advocates said the court overstepped its bounds in …

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

The Gender Shades project revealed facial recognition performed poorest for darker-skinned women, and performed best for lighter-skinned men. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021