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ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) -- Residents of an area deemed at high risk for wildfire have protested plans to remove trees from county rights of way to improve emergency access.
"The county is cutting down trees against the wishes of the homeowners," said Barbara Truesdale, a resident of the Dixie Deer area in Central. "All of the homeowners are up in arms about it."
Truesdale lives on Cedar Drive, one of two streets chosen to show residents what the county and state fire officials want to do in the entire area.
Workers began cutting Tuesday within the right of way on Cedar Drive.
Residents gathered Wednesday along Cedar Drive to protest the operation.
"Most of us moved up here because we want to be in the trees," Truesdale said. "We are saddened to see the trees being cut."
Washington County officials want to clear all vegetation within 10 feet of the road and thin other trees and brush within the rest of the rights of way.
"Right now, if there was a fire there, we couldn't get fire trucks in and have people come out at the same time," said County Commissioner Alan Gardner. "It's really an unsafe situation."
The operation is part of the National Fire Plan, which offers federal money to help protect communities from wildfires.
Ron Wilson, southwest area manager for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, told residents at a January meeting that Central is the No. 1 at-risk community in the area.
Gordon Poppitt, a Central resident who serves on the local fire council, told the protesting residents Wednesday that in a wildfire in California, some residents died in their vehicles because the roads were not wide enough for them to escape.
Phil Truesdale, husband of Barbara Truesdale, said most of the residents had four-wheel-drive vehicles and could get around other vehicles in the way.
He said if one road were not accessible, they would just choose another route to evacuate.
He also said they knew the area was fire-prone when they moved there in 1976. The residents understand the risk, he said, and if fighting a fire would endanger the firefighters, they should just let his home burn.
County officials said the residents might feel differently if a fire did come through.
"They're all mad now, but if there was a fire there and something happened, they'd be really mad at the county for not taking proper steps," Gardner said.
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Information from: The Spectrum, http://www.thespectrum.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
