The FireBreak Campaign

05/28/2026

Happy Wildfire Awareness Month!

Before May wraps up, we can make our homes more resilient to wildfire by focusing on the "Immediate Zone" — the first 0-5 feet around a house & the exterior of the house itself.

Reducing flammable material in this area makes houses less likely to burn due to flying embers or small surface flames. (Which are the main ways homes burn during wildfires.)

Here are some examples of what to do in the Immediate Zone:
🍂 Remove leaves and needles from gutters and "eddy" spots
🌾 String-trim dried-out weeds like cheatgrass and foxtail
💭 Wet down & rake up cottonwood seedlings piled against structures (just a quick spritz will do the trick!)
🪵 Move stacked wood or debris at least 5-10 feet away from structures

🔥 Want to know about the other "zones" and more pointers for wildfire resilience? Visit firebreakmoab.org/reducing-wildfire-risk 🔥

05/15/2026

Drought, warm weather, and minimal snowpack have made Utah's wildfire conditions resemble "what we usually see in mid-June."

It's especially important now to use your to prevent fires from starting, and take steps to reduce the risk of wildfire impacting your home!

Not sure where to start? Stay tuned for an update from us next week on some easy ways to reduce wildfire risk around homes and structures 🏠

05/15/2026

05/07/2026

New shaded fuel break alert!

We’ve been hard at work this spring reducing wildfire risk on the Canyonlands Health Care Special Service District property near Moab Regional Hospital.

Crews from Moab Valley Fire Department, Grand County W**d Department, and Utah Conservation Corps have been establishing a shaded fuel break on the property by removing dead trees, increasing spacing between the live ones, and taking out “ladder fuels” — in this case, dead brush that connected ground fuels (i.e. grasses) with tree canopies. This work breaks up the horizontal and vertical continuity of vegetation, meaning if a fire were to ignite, it would stay smaller, slower, and easier to stop.

Plus, Moab City crews removed 40 dumpster loads (that’s right — 40!) of flammable debris that had been piled on the east and south ends of the property. Huge kudos to the crews at the Streets Department and Parks Department for this critical work.

Thank you to the community for your patience and support on this long-term project! This collaborative work helps protect Moab's neighborhoods, healthcare facilities, and first responders while maintaining shade and habitat.

Note that work on the property is ongoing over the next few years. Please continue to avoid crews and work areas to ensure work can continue safely.

05/04/2026

Some great info about how to deal with annual weeds — including those like cheatgrass & foxtail/wall barley, which are also wildfire risks.

If your cheatgrass or foxtail have gone to seed (which they all have at this point), it's too late to spray! Instead, cut them down with a mower or a string-trimmer. This won't reduce the "crop" for next year, but it will lower wildfire risk by cutting vegetation close to the ground.

(Don't forget — string trimmers are safest, especially once weeds have dried out. If using a mower or anything with a metal blade, exercise extreme caution as the equipment can throw sparks and create its own fire risk.)

04/24/2026

Happy Earth Day! We celebrated by helping 30 amazing volunteers reduce wildfire risk & clean up along Moab’s creek corridors.

Yesterday, FireBREAK partnered with .moab , , and to clean up trash and clear weeds along Mill Creek in downtown Moab.

In just an hour, volunteers filled over seven 40-gallon trash bags with weeds, mostly invasive, flammable grasses like cheatgrass and foxtail. By removing these weeds along popular trails and in high-use areas, volunteers reduced the chance of an accidental ignition spreading into ladder fuels (low trees and shrubs) and from there into tree canopies, where it could grow into a much more dangerous fire.

Massive thanks to the volunteers and organizers who made it all happen! And to for providing dinner!

🔥 FireBREAK is Moab’s collaborative, multiagency fire preparedness campaign. Learn more and get involved at firebreakmoab.org

04/16/2026

12/19/2025

🔥 Fire Talk Friday 🔥

We've covered fire behavior already, but how can you tell when a wildfire is acting "erratic" or "extreme"?

One thing firefighters look at is flame height — basically, how far it is from the top of a flame to the ground, measured perpendicular to the ground.

12/12/2025

Now that we've talked a bit about fuels, we can start discussing the ways wildland firefighters break up those fuels to reduce fire risk or manage fires.

One way is — you guessed it! — a fire break.

Another way of breaking up fuel continuity is through a fire line, covered by this week's Fire Talk Friday. By removing fuels along a line, you reduce or remove a fire's ability to spread.

12/05/2025

🔥Fire Talk Friday 🔥

We've only scratched the "surface" of fuels so far!

Fire Talk Friday has covered live fuels, dead fuels, and ladder fuels...but there are plenty more! Surface fuels are, like their name suggests, fuels that don't extend too far off the soil surface. This can include anything from loose needles and leaves, to grasses and small shrubs, to logs and stumps.