WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (KUTV) — Firefighters from across the state of Utah are en route to California to help with the massive park fires in the northern part of the state.

This latest deployment is part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), which responds to the needs of Western countries.

The group of 44 firefighters includes fire engines from Carbon County, North Fork, Draper, Murray, Washington City, Provo, Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Unified Fire Authority, South Jordan and Sandy.

They are replacing an EMAC crew that deployed from Utah to Oregon more than two weeks ago and whose deployment was later extended and relocated to California.

According to the Utah Division of Emergency Management, this deployment is not a new EMAC agreement, but rather a modification.

In early August, the Utah Department of Natural Resources and several other organizations announced that Utah firefighters would remain in the state in light of forecasted continued hot and dry weather and an increase in lightning activity.

RELATED TOPICS: Utah firefighters head west to help with massive California park fire

However, due to the modified agreement for a pending request, this EMAC deployment is not applicable to this one.

According to Cal Fire, the Park Fire is raging across four counties and has burned about 427,000 acres of land, with the fire 34% contained. More than 6,500 firefighters are assigned to the massive blaze. Between Butte and Tehama counties, the Park Fire has destroyed nearly 650 structures and damaged nearly 50 more.

A 42-year-old man from Chico, California, was arrested the day after the park fire broke out (July 24, 2024) in connection with the arson investigation.

As of Thursday, August 8, the last group of firefighters from Utah were still en route to California and were scheduled to arrive Friday evening.

___