- A group of firefighters from Utah are on the ground in California helping to fight the wildfires.
- The Utah firefighters are expected to stay in the area for 14 days.
- The crews from Utah are working to make sure the fire doesn’t start back up in areas it has already passed through.
Utah
How Utah firefighters responded to the call to help with the California wildfires
A group of 64 firefighters from Utah responded to California’s call for frontline help with last week’s destructive wildfires, and find themselves on the ground in the Malibu area working to prevent the large destructive Palisades fire from spreading.
“I think the biggest thing for a lot of us is just feeling like we’re maybe on some kind of a movie set, or some kind of apocalyptic movie. The sheer destruction is, kind of overwhelming,” said Kelly Bird, a spokesperson from Unified Fire who is in California with crews of Utah firefighters.
Last Thursday, the group of firefighters and mechanics from various agencies in Utah met together and made their way to California to join the fight. The group drove through the night and arrived in California Friday morning.
The Utah crews are working to help contain the Palisades fire, the biggest and most destructive of the fires burning in Southern California.
What have the Utah firefighters been doing in California?
After they arrived Friday, the Utah crews were assigned to work on the fire line in Encino. They worked in a defensive, structure protection position, preparing for the Palisades fire to hit that area. This work focused on protecting residences, finding hazards, checking water pressure in hydrants and other prep work.
These firefighters work 24 hours on and 24 off, so after working through Saturday they had Sunday off. On Monday morning the Utah crews were were reassigned to the Malibu area.
Bird said they were assigned to residential areas that the fire had already burned through and wiped out pretty significantly. There they did mop up work, “going through the different residences and looking for hot spots, looking for anything that was smoldering and smoking, and just making sure everything was fully extinguished.”
They then spent Monday night on patrol, ready to tackle any flames that started due to the strong winds picking back up.
Tuesday is another day off for the Utah firefighters and they will be reassigned again on Wednesday.
What life is like for these Utah firefighters
Bird said residents in the area have taken very good care of these Utah firefighters, with plenty of food being donated as they help fight the fire.
“People find us wherever we are, and they bring us catered meals, they bring us burritos, they bring us snacks, granola bars, cases of water, cases of drinks, and it’s just non-stop,” Bird said. “We’re just glad and happy that we can provide that little bit of relief for them.”
The Utah crews were originally going to be housed in a Hotel in downtown Los Angeles but then were moved to Santa Monica.
The firefighters are staying in an office building, taking over space on a vacant third floor. Portable bathrooms and showers have been brought in for the crews to use. The crews have their own sleeping gear, they have taken their own spots on the floor with the firefighters sleeping in sleeping bags and on cots.
Utah firefighters shared what the destruction from the fires is like
Bird said that the biggest difference between this and other fires he’s worked is the amount of urban areas that have been impacted, as most wildfires happen in the mountains, further away from cities. The amount of destruction from these fires is unlike anything he’s seen before.
“Just the magnitude of and volume of people that have been impacted, is definitely impactful for us,” Bird said.
He shared that as they were working, they came across one house that had been destroyed that they could tell had been a very nice house.
They looked it up and saw it was advertised $12 million home in a nice location, Bird described his realization at that moment.
“This was somebody’s … their everything. This was something they had worked for and built and enjoyed, and now it’s gone,” Bird said. “And you know, that happens over and over and over again, with all these people here losing their homes and losing all their personal possessions.”
According to Bird, the fire is dying down but he expects the Utah group will be in California through the entirety of their 14 day deployment.
The conditions in California with dry conditions, low humidity and high winds made it the perfect place for fires to ignite and spread rapidly.
“Once those winds and fire mix, there’s there’s just no stopping it,” Bird said. “So the reason why it wiped things out is that just it overwhelmed the whole system, and they weren’t able to get a handle on it because the winds just blew it from one structure to the next in a matter of seconds.”
UTAH COUNTY, Utah — It’s one of many places in Utah’s great outdoors that inspires and leaves us in awe. But between its rocky cliffs and the crowds it attracts, Bridal Veil Falls can become dangerous, too.
Just this week, two search and rescue operations have been executed there.
With the sunny days and familiar sounds of summer upon us this Memorial Day weekend, that means adventure awaits for many.
Changes proposed by the Utah County Government
FOX 13 News
“To just be surrounded by mountains and outdoor recreation is just amazing,” said Nolan Belnap, who lives in Lindon.
School is out locally and with Monday off, places like Bridal Veil Falls become a magnet for visitors from around the country.
“Las Vegas, New York, she has family from Louisiana,” said Michael Desio, who visited the falls with his wife Patricia Friday evening.
As bikers, walkers and even strollers take to the Provo River Trail, this popular spot gets bottlenecked.
A narrow, makeshift bridge spans the base of the falls and causes congestion issues – county leaders have noticed.
“Our biggest problem is the conflict between bikers and walkers, especially at the base of the falls,” said Utah County Commissioner Skyler Beltran.
So, Commissioner Beltran says they’re seeking more local control through a land swap with the U.S. Forest Service that could allow them to make safety improvements.
“We proposed moving the bikers onto a bridge to the other side closer to the freeway,” Commission Beltran said.
He says that would make the closer viewing area pedestrian-only, while letting bicycle traffic go around and safely re-enter the pathway downriver.
Many also take the risk of climbing or going up user trails. Even locals like Patricia Desio from American Fork can’t help looking for the perfect angle for a photo.
“I don’t have my best hiking shoes but I wanted to get close to get a good shot,” she said.
So the changes may not just be limited to the base of the falls. Commissioner Beltran says they’re also looking at improvements for those visitors who are feeling a bit more adventurous.
“People get stuck and fall and have injuries there, so part of our plan is to make it more of an official trail,” said Commissioner Beltran, noting it would take visitors up to a viewing area at the middle of the falls.
The Desio’s say it would give them more comfort, as the ideas offer a chance to see something they’ve admired for years – closer and safer.
“We definitely like hiking so we would love to do something like that,” Michael said.
“I think it’s beautiful, it never gets old,” Patricia added.
Commissioner Beltran says there’s no current timeline for these improvements. They’re hopeful they could get to work as soon as this summer, but he notes it all hinges on the land deal.
The Farmington native made program history after advancing as an individual in the NCAA regionals.
(Stephen Brashear | AP) Utah’s Braxton Watts is pictured during an NCAA golf tournament on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, in Seattle.
The Captain is headed to California.
Ute golfer Braxton Watts is set to represent the University of Utah in the 2025 men’s NCAA Championships this week in Carlsbad, Calif.
With his berth this season, the Farmington native is now the fourth Utah golfer in program history to compete as an individual in the NCAA Championships three times. Utah alums Dustin Pimm, Kyler Dunkle and Tristan Mandur are the only others to achieve the feat.
The Utes fell short in their Bremerton, Wash., regional last week. But Watts’ first-place finish at Gold Mountain Golf Course earned him a spot in the championships.
“This team has a lot of heart, and they don’t know how to quit,” Utah golf head coach Garrett Clegg said. “We gave it everything to try to advance [as a team] but we just couldn’t get it done. I’m so happy for Braxton. He played incredible golf this week and it’s great that he will finish his season at the NCAA championships. It’s really incredible what the team did during this season, they’re truly a special group.”
Watts, also known as “The Captain,” debuted in the NCAA Championships during the 2022 season while the Utes placed fifth at the Norman regional. Last season, following Utah’s fourth-place finish in the Austin regional, Watts advanced again to the championship round for the second time in his career.
Despite the Utes not making the cut last season, Watts continued on to the fourth round in the championships and finished tied for 27th on the individual leaderboard.
This year, the Ute senior had to tally the best score of any non-individual in the 2025 NCAA regionals to advance to the championships.
He went even on day one of the event. On the second day, he stormed back with a 6-under 67 to keep the Utes within a pair of strokes of fifth place. Watts’ dominance continued the next day. He opened his final round with back-to-back birdies. On the back nine, the senior played bogey-free golf and added four more birdies to climb into first place.
Heading into the championships, Watts ranks as the fifth-seeded individual golfer of the tournament, where he’ll be grouped with the other five golfers who posted the best individual score at their respective regionals and have a non-advancing team.
How to watch
Dates: May 23-28
Where: Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
Watch: Golf Channel (May 26-28)
Live Scoring: Scoreboard
Team seeding (NCAA ranking)
1. Auburn (1)
2. Oklahoma State (2)
3. Ole Miss (3)
4. Texas (4)
5. Arizona State (5)
6. Oklahoma (6)
7. Florida (7)
8. Florida State (9)
9. Virginia (10)
10. Texas A&M (11)
11. Illinois (12)
12. UCLA (14)
13. Vanderbilt (16)
14. BYU (19)
15. South Carolina (20)
16. Pepperdine (21)
17. Georgia (22)
18. Tennessee (23)
19. Texas Tech (24)
20. Georgia Tech (26)
21. South Florida (27)
22. Colorado (29)
23. UNLV (31)
24. Purdue (36)
25. San Diego (39)
26. Wake Forest (40)
27. New Mexico (42)
28. Troy (46)
29. California (49)
30. Augusta (93)
Individual seeding
1. Jacob Modleski, Notre Dame
2. Hunter Thomson, Michigan
3. Bryan Kim, Duke
4. Claes Borregaard, Kennesaw State
5. Braxton Watts, Utah
6. Sakke Siltal, Texas State
The Utah Jazz have four selections, 5, 21, 43, and 53, in the June 25th NBA Draft. Because of this, they’ll be able to cast a wide net of players that they could select to add to their team next season.
That has led to an exciting and busy time for fans as we wade through the waters and search for who the team could select. Next up on our list is Liam McNeeley, the forward from Connecticut who could surprisingly be available at 21.
Stats: 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.2 blocks, 38.1% FG, 31.7% 3P, 86.6% FT
Draft Range: Middle to late first round
A year ago, I pleaded for the Jazz to go up and get a different UConn Husky in Stephon Castle. 12 months later, the Jazz could have a different player from Dan Hurley’s team fall right into their laps with their second pick in the first round.
McNeeley is a big wing standing at 6’8 and 215 pounds. Your opinion of him likely comes down to how you view his shot. Billed as an elite shooter, McNeeley shot under 32% from deep on the year despite his reputation. On top of that, his athletic limitations led to struggles within the arc as well.
I do believe in McNeeley as a shooter. His form is picturesque, he has a quick release, he shot nearly 87% from the charity stripe, and his reputation as a knock-down shooter all give me confidence in him becoming a spacing weapon at the next level.
While the shot is the main draw to McNeeley, he’s more than just a shooter. He’s a smart passer with the upside to operate as a high feel connector or secondary playmaker as he develops. While I don’t see him turning into a high-usage guy, he’s intelligent and makes winning plays for his team offensively.
McNeeley is also a solid rebounder for a wing. Because of his above-average rebounding and size, I wonder if McNeeley will be at his best as a floor-spacing power forward at the next level. Some of the higher-end outcomes I can see for McNeeley would be Nets forward Cam Johnson and former Jazzman Bojan Bogdanovic.
Both Johnson and Bogdanovic make their money as floor spacers. They’re the same height as McNeeley, have similar athletic limitations, and are not heralded for their defense.
Speaking of defense, I wouldn’t say it’s a strength for McNeeley. His steal and block numbers in college were startlingly low. He doesn’t possess the foot speed to stay in front of drivers, and, while he is tall, his 6’8 wingspan isn’t impacting many plays.
Overall, if McNeeley is available at 21, he could certainly be in play for the Jazz. A projectable shooter, McNeeley will need to become more reliable and consistent from deep, but NBA guards should manufacture easier looks for him. If he does enough elsewhere, he could carve out a long NBA career.
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