The Fox Bay fire along the banks of the Jordanelle Reservoir earlier in August raged dangerously close to U.S. 40, the highway between the reservoir and the mountainous acreage of Deer Valley Resort.

Deer Crest was a worry and Deer Valley itself was of concern for a while as the fire spread. Deer Valley staffers were prepared to assist the firefighting efforts if the blaze had spread to its land.

A key part of the resort’s firefighting contingency: the snowmaking system. A high-ranking resort official said afterward Deer Valley’s firefighting apparatus involves the pipes used to move water when the snowmaking system is in operation, typically in the early weeks of a ski season.

“All the resorts have the capacity of turning on their snowmaking systems,” said Chuck English, the director of mountain operations at Deer Valley, adding, “What snowmaking is, in essence, is water pipes buried underground.”

English said hoses could be hooked up to the snowmaking system and then be used to fight a fire. Such an operation would not resemble the more familiar role of the snowmaking system, when the water is mixed with compressed air to create the snow-like ground coverage each ski season.

He said firefighting could be conducted on a “small scale” using hoses attached to the snowmaking system. English said Deer Valley stores between 300 feet and 400 feet of hose at the bottom of each lift that operates in the summer. He said it would take staffers a few minutes to attach the hoses to the snowmaking system and begin using them against a fire.

During the Fox Bay fire, English said, a trail crew manager moved a hose from the bottom of a lift to the vicinity of the building at the bottom terminal of the Jordanelle Express Gondola. The location was seen as one of the spots that could be threatened if the Fox Bay fire spread across U.S. 40. Lift mechanics were also prepared to start the gondola to prevent one section of the gondola cable from being exclusively exposed to the fire.

He said staffers train for such a scenario and the ability to fight a fire with the snowmaking system “gives us a little peace of mind.”

“It gives you the ability to at least do something,” English said.

He acknowledged, though, the firefighting capabilities of the resort tapping into the snowmaking system would not have been a viable option against a blaze the size of the Fox Bay fire.

Sometime eight or nine years ago, English said, Deer Valley staffers used hoses attached to the snowmaking system to extinguish a small fire on the Nabob ski run on Bald Mountain. It is the only time water from the snowmaking pipes has been used for firefighting purposes, he said.

The other two Park City-area mountain resorts, Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons, were not threatened by the Fox Bay fire.

PCMR has similar resources available to firefighters as those at Deer Valley. An official with PCMR, director of mountain and base operations Brian Suhadolc, said the Park City Fire District is able to tap into the snowmaking system.

“PCFD is familiar with our system and how to use it in the event of a fire emergency,” Suhadolc said in a statement released by the resort.

Details about the resources at Canyons were not available, but an official indicated the resort has spoken with the Fire District about resources if a fire broke out.