This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah has a new elite wildfire-fighting crew, and they're already battling a wildfire.
The Alta Handcrew is now certified as a Type 1 or "Hotshot" crew, meaning they have the highest certification to fight wildfires. The team of 20 underwent its final national review in Ogden two weeks ago, the last step in a four-year journey to the certification. The designation was finalized Friday.
The same day, the newly renamed Alta Hotshots received their first assignment: the Cow Hollow Fire in Duchesne County. The lightning-sparked fire has grown to 60 acres by Saturday morning, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Hotshot crews are typically deployed when the terrain, fire behavior or the remoteness require special expertise.
The Alta Hotshots makes the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands the only state agency in the country that sponsors two Interagency Hotshot Crews (IHC). The other is the Lone Peak Hotshot Crew.
While they are members of the state agency, both the Alta and Lone Peak Hotshot Crews can be deployed to fight fires nationwide, said Jason Curry, spokesman for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands.
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