A Declaration of Local Emergency was issued by Summit County Monday night.
The announcement, signed by Summit County Manager Tom Fisher, was needed essentially for procedural reasons. It allows Summit County to continue the evacuation order that has been in place since the weekend due to the Parleys Canyon fire.
The declaration noted that on August 14, a fast-moving wildfire started in Lamb’s Canyon and swept up Parleys Canyon, quickly forcing the evacuation of Summit Park, Timberline and Pinebrook.
Residents without immediate options for temporary housing were directed to a Red Cross evacuation shelter at Park City High School.
Deputy Summit County Manager Janna Young told KPCW that the declaration will extend the evacuation order, given the expected weather conditions.
“We were getting information from those on the ground that there’s potentially high winds and bad weather today and tomorrow. So they were not comfortable allowing people to go back to their homes just yet. And so the sheriff’s declaration, initially, I think can only hold for 36 hours or something like that, and then it becomes the county manager’s responsibility to actually declare an emergency and extend that. So that’s why that occurred yesterday.”
The declaration also says that, with the Parleys Canyon Fire continuing to burn uncontrolled, the county is requesting assistance from the state of Utah and the federal government for all necessary resources.
It says the county manager will consult with the sheriff about any further extensions or changes to the evacuation order.
