As part of the Central Wasatch Watershed Restoration project, treatment of fuels in Parleys and Lambs canyons will continue with pile burning beginning Friday to improve forest and watershed health.

Fuels reduction projects use a number of methods to remove excess vegetation, which can lead to difficult-to-control wildfires. Along with reducing catastrophic wildfires, they can also improve overall forest health, and enhance wildlife habitat, fire officials say.

This project was hand-thinned using chainsaws, and the slash was stacked into piles for efficient burning. The thinning and mastication work was accomplished by contract crews, with oversight by the Forest Service and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources personnel. The pile burning will be done by a combination of Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and contract labor.

Ignitions will only occur when forest managers are confident that the project can be undertaken safely and successfully, when conditions are right, officials say. Precipitation, fuel moisture, wind, temperature, air quality, and available firefighter staffing are all considered. The recent and predicted moisture helps contain the piles, and firefighters monitor the area during and after the burn.

Smoke, flames, and glowing embers are often visible, and are a normal part of slash pile burning operations. Recognizing that prescribed fire also adds smoke to the atmosphere, the U.S. Forest Service and its partners say they remain committed to minimizing smoke impacts. Project managers say they have planned this prescribed fire project in accordance with all applicable air quality regulations.

“This is important work to improve the health of our forest, protect our watersheds and safeguard our communities and region from the threat of catastrophic wildfire we’ve seen, and have been impacted by from across the globe,” said Carl Fisher, executive director of Save Our Canyons. “There’s no question this work is intensive, but we’ve already seen regeneration of aspens that have been encroached upon by conifers, due to the absence of fire from the landscape. Fire plays a critical role in our forests, our object is to help the ecosystem thrive, and do better as we learn more through community engagement, research, monitoring, and science.”

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The Park City Board of Realtors and Park City MLS announced that their recent annual Hats Off to Housing event at Silver Lake Lodge at Deer Valley raised $155,000, which representatives called a a testament to the community’s commitment and generosity to the needs of those in our community who need affordable housing.

The funds raised from the event will be directed toward Mountainlands Community Housing Trust’s project at Holiday Village and Park Side Apartments, which aims to break ground in 2024. 

“The support and commitment from local organizations and the community at large was truly overwhelming,” said Jamie Johnson, CEO of the Park City Board of Realtors. “Every year, we strive to make a difference in the housing landscape of Park City, and the success of this event reaffirms that we are on the right track.”

This year’s gathering not only featured the traditional tip-of-the-hat celebration but also saw participants enjoying a range of entertainment and networking opportunities, organizers said.

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The Utah Cloud Seeding Symposium at Snowbird Resort began Thursday, bringing together leading experts, researchers and stakeholders to explore the world of cloud seeding.

“The Utah Cloud Seeding Symposium underscores the critical role of weather modification in addressing our state’s water resource challenges,” said Joel Ferry, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. “By bringing together experts, researchers and policymakers, we are fostering a collaborative environment where innovative ideas can thrive. Weather modification is not just a science. It’s a crucial tool for ensuring water sustainability in our arid region.”

Utah has been cloud seeding since the early 1950s to augment the state’s water supply. Cloud seeding is credited with increasing water supply between 5%-15% in seeded areas at a cost between $10 and $15 per acre-foot for the additional water.

This year, the Utah Legislature allocated $12 million in one-time funding and provided an annual budget of $5 million to expand the program. Utah currently has around 170 cloud seeders statewide and intends to add an additional 60 manual generators and 120 remote generators over the next few years. 

“The investment from the Legislature has been incredible. As we discuss cloud seeding’s scientific foundations, operational nuances and environmental implications, we look forward to charting a path that enhances the effectiveness and sustainability of cloud seeding programs in Utah and beyond,” said Ferry.

“Collaboration between states is not only about improving individual programs but also has the intention of providing more water supply for the entire region,” said Tom Ryan, a resource specialist with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. “The challenges we face with water scarcity do not adhere to state borders, and through initiatives like cloud seeding, we can collectively bolster our water resources.”

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South Lake Tahoe residents Jamie Anderson and Maddie Bowman were already locks for Team USA heading into the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, but fellow South Shore resident Kyle Smaine shook up qualifying with a victory this past weekend at the U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain.

Smaine was eighth overall heading into the final Olympic qualifier but put his name in the mix by winning the men’s ski halfpipe with a 92.20. Overall, Smaine is fifth after the victory and has finished on the podium once. Two podium finishes are the minimum criteria, established by the coaches, for qualifying.

The U.S. can send a maximum of four men and four women to compete in halfpipe so it appears Smaine will need to be a coach’s discretionary pick.

Reno’s David Wise, Alex Ferreira and Torin Yater-Wallace have all qualified with Aaron Blunck on the cusp in fourth place with two podium finishes.

Bowman is one of three women’s skier halfpipe qualifiers. The defending gold medalist from the Sochii games in 2014 earned the Team USA nod after the last qualifier in Snowmass, Colorado and backed that up with a second place finish at Mammoth.

A fourth skier is expected to be added for each gender, selected by a committee next week. And that fourth woman will likely be Sochi Olympian Arielle Gold, who is fourth in qualifying and has reached the minimum of one top three result against the entire field. Blunck and Smaine are the two athletes vying for the fourth slot on the men’s team.

South Lake Tahoe’s Hannah Teter, the 2006 gold medalist and 2010 silver medalist, is fifth in qualifying and is unlikely to be chosen for her fourth winter Olympics. She didn’t reach the minimum qualifying criteria.

Anderson, the 2014 gold medalist in snowboard slopestyle, finished Olympic qualifying with a victory this past weekend at Mammoth.

The Olympics also are adding a “big air” competition this year and Anderson has a chance to win a pair of gold medals.

The 2018 Winter Olympics take place from Feb. 9 – 25.

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U.S. alpine skier Travis Ganong said Monday that he will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL in a crash at the downhill in Bormio, Italy, on Thursday.

Ganong, of Squaw Valley, California, will miss the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea, where he would have been one of the American men’s best chances at medaling in the alpine skiing speed events.

“I’m obviously disappointed that the injury I sustained in Bormio means my season is over, especially as this is an Olympic year,” Ganong said. “But I know I will be back, and I will be back stronger and faster than ever. Now my focus is on recovery and on supporting my teammates at the Games in South Korea. We have an incredible team, right across all the disciplines U.S. Ski & Snowboard represents, and I’ll be cheering as loudly as any of our fans when our guys win medals in PyeongChang.”

Ganong, 29, has won two World Cup downhills in his career. He won a silver medal at the 2015 World Championships in Beaver Creek.

He finished fifth in the downhill in his first Olympics, in Sochi, in 2014.

“Travis was a medal threat in South Korea, for sure,” said Tiger Shaw, CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “He has the speed, talent and experience to win, and he’s tasted podium success already on the world stage, so not having him on our team in PyeongChang is clearly disappointing, but he will recover and he will have many opportunities to win in the future.

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Jamie Anderson made it. Maddie Bowman is on the cusp. And Hannah Teter has some work to do.

The South Lake Tahoe trio of past Olympians and 2018 PyeongChang hopefuls were at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado this past weekend trying to qualify for a spot on Team USA for the winter games in February.

Anderson, who, along with her competitors, battled flat light and difficulty seeing the definition of the snow, finished in second place Saturday, Dec. 16, in the Dew Tour Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle and will defend her title in South Korea after taking gold in the 2014 Sochi games.

Anderson scored a 93.33 on her first run that closed with a perfect frontside 720 grabbing mute. She led after the first round, but Canadian Spencer O’Brien won the event with a second run score of 95.00.

“Whereas these other events that happen every year — you can redeem yourself — with the Olympics you may, if you’re lucky, only get to go to a couple in your whole career,” Anderson said. “So I think that is what inspires people to work harder.”

Anderson will also try to medal in big air as it makes its Olympic debut. All slopestyle riders who qualify for the Olympics will compete in the new event.

Anderson, 27, led the FIS World Cup standings in slopestyle, big air and overall in 2015-16 and was first in slopestyle, fifth in big air and second overall the following year. Anderson also is the most decorated slopestyle athlete in Winter X Games history with a total of 12 medals, including five golds.

Bowman, the defending gold medalist in halfpipe skiing, led briefly after a strong second run followed a fall early in her first attempt. But she was pushed to third place with a high score of 90.33. Bowman finished fifth the week before at Copper Mountain in Colorado.

Teter, a three-time Olympian and 2006 Torino Games gold medalist, is in danger of falling out of the running and needs a strong result at the next qualifier.

Teter is tied for fifth place with Elena Hight with 850 points. Chloe Kim won her second straight qualifier to earn an Olympic spot. She has 2,000 points and is followed by veteran Kelly Clark (1,400), Maddie Mastro (1,300) and Arielle Gold (1,100).

The final two Olympic qualifying events will be held Jan. 10-12 at the Grand Prix in Snowmass, Colorado, and Jan. 17-19 at the Mammoth Grand Prix at Mammoth Lakes, California.

Antonio Olivero, sports and outdoors editor for the Summit Daily News, a Tribune sister publication based in Summit County, Colorado, contributed to this report.

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