Please be informed that this Friday and/or Saturday (September 19-20) there will be a controlled burn on our neighbor’s property, the LDS Church Heber Valley Camp. This fire has been approved and authorized by the County and the County Fire Marshall will personally be there to oversee things. The area of the burn has been cleared and is devoid of combustible material to ensure safety.

The Camp has recommended to the County and to the Board that the burn occur now, rather than in another month or two for one significant reason. Right now, the work can be attended to and watched over by a literal army of missionaries, however, the missionaries will terminate their service in the next 2 weeks and then the burn would have to occur with only a handful of people. The County and the Board think it is a wise decision to do it now and agree with the request.

Why the burn? Interestingly enough, it is for us, Timberlakes. As you may know all our water in Timberlakes comes from springs on the property owned by the Church camp. There is an agreement that allows our water company to enter their property in order to develop the springs. The Water Company has been working on that project this summer and has now tapped into the springs. Next year new water tanks will be constructed in the areas cleared out around the springs and we will have sufficient water again for our community. However, a quantity of trees and brush had to be removed in order to develop the springs and clear the surrounding areas needed for the tanks. It is that material that will be burned. Or, in other words, the burn is due to our water development project.

So, if you look over and see smoke this Friday and/or Saturday, please know it is safe, approved and being watched over.

Ole Smith, Administrative VP-TLPOA – Liaison Heber Valley Camp