Hideout Councilmember Ralph Severini said the geography of the town makes it vulnerable for fires to start and spread.
The risk assessment shared at Tuesday’s community meeting shows just about every property in Hideout could be affected.
“The analysis for Hideout wasn’t very pretty,” he said.
Data from First Street, a natural disaster risk assessment company, shows that 99% of Hideout properties are considered at “severe” risk. That’s the second-highest level of danger.
The town is mostly made up of secondary homes sitting on the hillside over the eastern shore of the Jordanelle Reservoir.
Already, some residents say it’s a challenge to get affordable insurance coverage – or to get coverage at all.
One homeowner, only identified as Kyle, said his policy was recently dropped.
“We got canceled by State Farm, and having a heck of a time getting a new policy,” he said. “Been to 20 different companies, half of them say they won’t even touch it because of the wildfire risk.”
Wasatch Fire District leaders said the hilly landscape makes wildfire mitigation a challenge, since fire likes to climb uphill. But they also said there are some factors that improve the outlook for the town in case of fire.
“You have an approved water system, you have approved roads. You have a golf course that sits in the middle of the community, which adds some of those fire breaks,” Fire Warden Troy Morgan said.
He said Hideout residents can reduce the risk to their homes by trimming trees and clearing brush.
The town also recently established a temporary fire station, with construction of a permanent location scheduled to begin this year.
The new fire station is meant to reduce response times and make it easier for residents to secure insurance coverage.
Firefighters said they encourage homeowners’ associations to establish rules for fire mitigation, like keeping trees 10 feet from structures.
“People build their whole houses around trees, but the simple fact is, trees burn down houses,” Wasatch County Fire Marshal Clint Neerings said. “The only way to do it would be removal of these large trees. It’s not the popular answer, but it’s a matter of fact that if a tree is too close to a home, the home has very little chance of surviving a flame front.”
He suggested HOAs could also implement fines for residents who don’t take steps to mitigate fire risk.
The Wasatch Fire District recommended steps from the National Fire Protection Association to make neighborhoods more fire resilient.
