This is your daily news rundown for Thursday, May 14. In this edition:
- The Wild Horse Fire in Millard County has burned 1,100 acres in its first day
- Utah's two newest cities can't charge taxes this year because of one missed deadline
A new fire in Millard County burned over 1,000 acres in a day
A fire that sparked in Millard County on Wednesday has already grown to over 1,000 acres.
The Wild Horse Fire started southwest of Leamington, then gusty winds helped it tear through grass and sagebrush to reach 1,100 acres as of Thursday afternoon.
Those winds, as well as steep, rocky terrain, have made it more difficult for crews to get on a handle on some parts of the fire, leaving it just 5% contained so far.
However, Utah Fire Info said crews hope to make progress on Thursday with lower temperatures and less wind in the area.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Utah’s two newest cities missed a deadline. Now, they can’t charge taxes this year
Utah’s two newest cities can’t charge taxes this year.
Ogden Valley City in Weber County and Spring Lake in Utah County both voted to incorporate in 2024 and elected their councils last year, at which point they had to submit documents to get their official certificates of incorporation.
Both cities had some delays in those submissions, meaning they weren’t certified until Jan. 2 and Jan. 16 respectively — and according to Utah law, cities cannot charge taxes for the upcoming fiscal year if they weren’t incorporated by Jan. 1.
That leaves both new cities scrambling for other ways to balance the budget, whether with transportation fees, loans, donations, or new agreements with the county.
