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Soldiers at Camp Williams will resume live-fire training exercises Thursday, but with new safety precautions in place. Surrounding communities support the new measures.
Firing-range operations had been suspended after the Machine Gun Fire near Herriman, which began Sept. 19 when a spark from a machine-gun round ignited a hillside, destroying three homes and scorching 4,300 acres. Although four investigations into the fire have yet to be resolved, training has become backlogged and needs to resume, said Brig. Gen. Jeff Burton, of the Utah National Guard.
Camp officials believe new safety measures will significantly reduce fire risks, Burton said, with more up-to-date weather information playing a key role.
A large TV at range control will constantly be updated with current conditions as well as forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Soldiers at range control will also receive severe-weather warnings by e-mail, and fire conditions will be checked hourly. Firefighting aircraft will also be on standby during red-flag, extreme and high fire conditions.
The firing range will also see new restrictions, Burton said. New signs will be placed to more clearly designate target areas, and troops will have photographic aids of the range they are firing on. Units participating in live-fire training will also have safety and quality-control checks each time they use the range.
Since most training exercises take place on weekends, Camp Williams will also have more staff on base during those periods.
Artillery practices remain suspended through the end of the year, said Lt. Col. Hank McIntire, a Guard spokesman. An artillery practice scheduled for this week was moved to Dugway, but residents can expect to hear the heavy firing five or six more times throughout 2011.
Suspending the training operations for the nearly seven weeks since the fire has created a training backlog, Burton said.
"We've shut things down here for a couple of months, and we're behind," Burton said, adding that about 2,000 soldiers and civilians have had training rescheduled or canceled. Some operations have been moved to Dugway, while local law enforcement and FBI exercises have had to find other ranges, causing some scheduling conflicts.
The new safety measures have the support of surrounding communities, said Herriman Mayor Josh Mills.
Many residents in the base's neighboring communities work at Camp Williams, Mills said, leaving families in new subdivisions in the foothills weighing short commutes against fire and other disaster dangers.
"There are certain risks you have to be willing to accept," Mills said, adding that training soldiers who may be headed into combat is a high priority.
The five cities surrounding Camp Williams — Bluffdale, Eagle Mountain, Herriman, Lehi and Saratoga Springs — are working together on problems caused by new subdivisions bordering the base's property, said Eagle Mountain Mayor Heather Jackson.
The cities are currently petitioning the Department of Defense for a grant to conduct a joint land-use study, which would look at planning and zoning in each city and recommend areas that could be preserved as buffer zones against fire.
The buffer land could still be used, but would contain parks and agricultural areas rather than homes.
Existing homes are another matter, Jackson said.
Eagle Mountain alone has more than 50 homes that border the Camp Williams fence line, and there are no plans to move those residents. Instead, more proactive measures will be taken when there are fire risks, Jackson said.
Machine Gun Fire Reparations
R So far, the Utah National Guard has paid more than $3 million on about 1,800 claims for damage related to the Machine Gun Fire.