Unified Fire Authority officials are pressing one message for Draper households this fire season: have a safety plan before you need one.

UFA Fire Marshal Wade Watkins and public information outreach specialist Ricardo Rivera delivered that guidance at a public safety night in Riverton on Tuesday, Aug. 4, where families walked through fire safety simulators and met first responders face to face. UFA provides fire protection to Draper and several other Salt Lake County communities.

"It has taken a toll, as everyone can tell, between the structure fires, the wildfires, and just the natural events that do happen," Rivera told Fox 13.

The outreach comes as Utah's 2026 wildfire season has already burned more than 380,000 acres statewide, exceeding the previous five years combined, according to Utah Fire Info. The Cottonwood Fire alone spread 10,000 acres in its first 24 hours and destroyed nearly 150 homes in Beaver County. Nationally, 99 large fires were active as of Aug. 3, with the season exceeding the 10-year average for both fire count and acres burned, per the National Interagency Fire Center.

As we reported Aug. 3, Draper residents have already felt the effects through persistent wildfire smoke.

Kelly Wickens, a fire prevention specialist with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, told KUER in early July that fire growth had reached up to 30,000 acres in a single day, as reported by the Daily Dispatch. "We haven't seen" that pace "in a very long time, if ever," Wickens said.

What Draper residents should know

Parts of Draper sit within Utah's High-Risk Wildland Urban Interface boundary, established under House Bill 48 during the 2025 legislative session. Approximately 60,000 structures statewide fall inside that high-risk zone. Residents can check their home's risk rating through the state's wildfire risk tool, described on Draper City's website.

Draper City has adopted the WUI Code, which requires fire-resistant roofing and siding, ember-resistant vents and vegetation management near wildland areas. The city's fire department held a public presentation on April 15 explaining how the state's WUI map affects local homeowners.

Gov. Cox and the state forester also imposed a temporary statewide ban on personal fireworks for the July 4 holiday period due to extreme wildfire danger, and Draper prohibited personal fireworks citywide during that time.

What to do now

UFA officials say every household should have a fire safety plan ready before an emergency strikes. Draper residents can sign up for Notify Draper to receive emergency alerts via email or text about fires, traffic disruptions and other emergencies.

Watkins acknowledged the strain on crews at the Aug. 4 event but said community support sustains them. "We all feel like we need some good energy right now, right? It's been a long and hot summer," he said. "I don't know that there's going to be any breaks coming up soon, but the community helps."

Draper's own fire safety event, the Lights & Ladders Safety Fair, is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10, at Draper Park from 5–8 p.m., with live fire demos, prevention information and fire and police vehicles on display.