Utah

After bear euthanized, several campgrounds reopen in North Utah

Published

2 hours ago

July 31, 2024

After bear euthanized, several campgrounds reopen in North Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — The Division of Wildlife Resources euthanized an aggressive bear last weekend, and says this is a good reminder for those using the outdoors to keep food put away and camp areas clean.

Officials say there are always bears in the mountains of Utah, even if you’re not seeing them and the best way to keep yourself and the bears safe is to not give them a reason to get close to you.

At the Handshake campground in American Fork Canyon, Jodi Smith and her extended family are enjoying a fun week together.

“We gather our extended family every year up American Fork Canyon,” Smith tells KSL TV.

They arrived over the weekend but almost had to cancel. Granite Flats was one of several campgrounds the Division of Wildlife Resources had closed due to bear danger.

They say the bear they euthanized had been making the rounds at several campsites and showed no fear of humans. In addition, they say the bear had become aggressive at least once.

“It had just created a dangerous situation, that obviously wouldn’t have been solved by just relocating the bear,” says Faith Heaton Jolley with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. “Our policy did require that the bear had to be euthanized.”

She says euthanizing an animal is always the worst-case scenario and she hopes campers are strict about cleaning up the areas they use and about keeping food locked up.

For Smith and her family, they make cleaning up a game. Each night they give tickets to the younger kids for helping to make sure there are no scraps of food left anywhere. Smith says It’s a fun way to involve the kids and ensure the campsite is safe.

“We never leave coolers or bins full of food, those are always in trailers, never in tents,” says Smith. “And we just don’t leave snacks around.”

Smith came to this site every year as a child and now brings her kids and grandkids. Her siblings do the same. They expected to have roughly 60 people at the site for dinner on Sunday.

As a family, they want to keep the tradition going for years to come and are willing to put in the work to keep it going. Their family rule at the end of each day?

“Leave no trace.”

The Division of Wildlife Resources says you can find all kinds of safety tips when it comes to bears in the wilderness at wildawareutah.org.

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Utah

New national cemetery for veterans being built in southern Utah

Published

9 hours ago

July 31, 2024

Press Room

New national cemetery for veterans being built in southern Utah

CEDAR CITY, Utah — A hill overlooking Cedar City is filled with the noise of construction equipment right now, but a defense department official hopes the under-construction cemetery will soon be a serene resting place for southern Utah’s veterans.

Tony Thomas, who oversees national cemeteries in Utah, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado, said he stood on the site of what will be the Southern Utah National Cemetery a year ago and visualized a place of beauty with the scenery of Iron County below.

“The importance of that is, you know, when you’ve got family members that are in a grieving process, to be able to have a place that’s so serene with such a beautiful view,” said Thomas, the director of the Fort Logan National Cemetery Complex under the Department of Veterans Affairs. “What Utah is known for are beautiful mountains.”

The cemetery, which was officially named on Monday, will be the first national cemetery in Utah south of Provo, and officials say it will fill a glaring hole toward a growing veteran population in Cedar City, St. George and the rest of southern Utah.

Southern Utah already includes the Southern Utah Veterans Home in Ivins, where many locals who have served their country spend their final days.

Now, they will have a place for their final rest.

“The rural initiative for the National Cemetery Administration is based on these areas where we have these veteran populations that are underserved,” Thomas said. “We have a huge veteran population up in St. George, and they’re going to be served as well as the veterans out in Cedar City.”

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Utah

Weak cool front sweeping into northern Utah, with smoky skies continuing

Published

16 hours ago

July 30, 2024

Press Room

Weak cool front sweeping into northern Utah, with smoky skies continuing

A weak front brushes northern Utah, allowing a slight wind direction change and keeping temperatures near seasonal averages. This will also allow more smoke to filter in across northern Utah as poor air quality persists. Hot temperatures are still expected for the weekend with possible monsoon moisture on tap for the end of the weekend.

Salt Lake City
Tuesday: Smoky sunshine and breezy. Highs: Mid-90s.
Tuesday Night: Clear: Low: Near 70.
Wednesday. Smoky sunshine. Highs: Mid-90s.

St. George
Tuesday: Sunny. Highs: Near 102.
Tuesday Night: Clear. Lows: Near 80.
Wednesday: Warmer and sunny. Highs: Near 103.

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Utah

Olympic Skier Voices Approval of Winter Games Return To Utah

Published

23 hours ago

July 30, 2024

Press Room

Olympic Skier Voices Approval of Winter Games Return To Utah

Olympic champion and 3-time world team champion aerial skier Chris Lillis voiced his approval of the Winter Olympic Games returning to Utah in a poolside interview at the Utah Olympic Park training center. Lillis believes the 2034 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games will be a great opportunity for kids with aspirations for competing.

“The facilities are top notch, they are always expanding, always building new things to make it better and now we see why. They are building towards such a big event like the Olympics.”

Park City resident Mathew Lindon also answered a few questions providing context to the area’s explosive growth over the past 45 years from a town with no traffic light to one of the most popular ski destinations in the world. Lindon had wise words mixed with optimism and caution when it comes to Park City taking the world’s stage in 10 years:

“We seen these big changes as we come along and I think we do best when we change slowly and we have time to think things out and do things the right way. With the Olympics we have had the time, we have had the money and I think what they have done is excellent.”

The 2034 games will utilize sites that have been well-maintained as community facilities since the Winter Games in 2002 and will include no new permanent venue construction.