A Tooele County official was arrested and charged with a felony after she allegedly took nearly $9,500 in public funds over a five-year span. 

Rhonda G. Larsen, 58, is charged with second-degree felony misuse of public money. The charges were filed July 5 in 3rd District Court. 

An audit of the cash funds received by the Tooele County Recorder’s Office found that there was $9,458.55 missing between May 13, 2013 and June 1, 2018, according to a probable cause statement. Larsen was the employee responsible for the cash receipts and deposits during the more than five-year span. 

After discovering the discrepancy in the audit, the Tooele City Police Department was contacted, according to the probable cause statement. Detectives interviewed Larsen, who admitted to taking the money for personal use. 

Larsen is scheduled to make her initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Aug. 6 at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Matthew Bates.

A Tooele man is facing felony charges after he allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl and provided her methamphetamine, according to court records. 

Brandon Edward Catt, 31, is charged with first-degree felony rape, first-degree felony distribution of a controlled substance and third-degree felony permitting a child to be exposed to a controlled substance. 

Tooele City police received a child abuse neglect report on April 18, which advised a 16-year-old girl had recently given birth to a baby and several individuals suspected Catt, who was in a position of trust to the girl, was the father, according to a probable cause statement. Police interviewed the suspect at the Tooele County Children’s Justice Center, where she did not disclose any sexual involvement with Catt. 

The following day, the victim spoke with police at a friend’s house and said she had sex with Catt long before she got pregnant, according to the probable cause statement. On April 20, the victim recanted her statement to police and said she never had sex with Catt. 

Police then obtained consent from the state Department of Child and Family Services, who had custody of the victim’s child, for a cheek swab, the statement said. The cheek swab was obtained on April 24 and a paternity test was submitted on May 2.

The results of the DNA paternity test, which were received on June 27, determined Catt was the biological father, according to the probable cause statement. 

In an interview with police, Catt admitted to providing and using methamphetamine with the victim over the span of three to four months, the statement said.

Road construction to improve Village Boulevard is underway in Stansbury Park, with an anticipated completion date in September. 

On Tuesday morning, construction equipment was parked in the center of Village Boulevard, with traffic flowing in both directions. The project, with a construction cost of $830,083, will install a storm drain line, repair curb and gutter along the road and add safety features including American with Disabilities Act-compliant ramps. 

The scope of the project also includes removing 3 inches of existing asphalt, regrading the existing road base and placing 5 inches of new asphalt, according to Tooele County Road Department director Rod Thompson. The road surface will be restriped, with a bike lane added. 

Construction is between the intersections of Aberdeen and Stallion Ways to state Route 36, a stretch of approximately 3,500 feet. The project will be completed in stages to reduce delays, according to Thompson, and businesses along Village Boulevard will remain open during construction. 

With delays expected during construction, motorists should find alternate routes, Thompson said. 

Another road construction project, a repaving project on SR-36, began on July 5. The project is expected to involve 15 miles of road between the junction of state Route 73 and one-mile north of the Pony Express Trail.

A Tooele man was shot and killed on eastbound state Route 210 last Friday, according to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department. 

Officers with the San Bernardino Police Department were dispatched on reports of a shooting on SR-210, west of the H Street exit in the city limits, at 3:59 a.m. on July 6, according to a press release from the San Bernardino County coroner. When officers arrived, they found 44-year-old Shawn Fowler with traumatic injuries. 

Fowler was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:11 a.m., according to the release. The shooting is being investigated by the homicide detail of the San Bernardino Police Department. 

Fowler was riding with his wife and another motorcyclist when they experienced a mechanical problem and pulled onto center median, according to media reports. Fowler’s wife was uninjured but the other motorcyclist was wounded in the shooting. 

Detectives were still trying to determine if the gunshots came from a passing vehicle as of Friday, according to media reports. 

Thunderstorms rolled into Tooele County Monday evening, sparking a pair of fires, including a 1,000-acre blaze that continues to burn. 

North Tooele Fire District firefighters first responded to a brush fire at Grantsville Reservoir around 9:20 p.m. Once crews arrived on scene, firefighters did not observe an active fire and had to shelter in their vehicles due to the extreme lightning, according to NTFD spokesman Ryan Willden. 

Grantsville City Fire Department crews were dispatched to investigate the area near North Willow Canyon for possible fire starts but didn’t observe any, Willden said. It’s common in lightning fires that trees can catch fire and smolder overnight, then reignite when exposed to wind and heat, he said, so firefighters will continue to monitor the area today. 

Following the call to Grantsville Reservoir, NTFD crews were dispatched to a half-acre to one-acre fire near the north end of the Stansbury Mountains near Timpie, according to Willden. By the time crews arrived, the fire, which was sparked by lightning, was showing significant growth. 

The wind shifted and pushed the fire downhill, toward a few structures in the area, including a couple of homes, Willden said. Fire engines were dispatched to defend the structures but the blaze, dubbed the Ellerbeck Fire, began to spread west, up and over the mountains. 

There were no evacuations as a result of the fire and the structures near the fire are deemed safe for now, Willden said. A county bulldozer created a fire line around one residence and the other is not in immediate danger, and there is a plan for structure protection, he said. 

By morning, the fire was over 1,000 acres, according to Willden. To combat the blaze, which is at only 15-percent containment, Bureau of Land Management crews and aerial support have been called in on the fire. 

As the fire moves into upper elevations, hand crews and air support will be crucial, Willden said. 

In addition to battling the wildfire, first responders had to deal with a possible search and rescue situation after dispatch received a report about someone had been driving a side-by-side in the area of the fire, Willden said. 

Helicopters from AirMed and the state Department of Public Safety were called to the search, but about five minutes after the first helicopter arrived, the person driving the UTR was reported safe.

A few days after Fourth of July, the Wasatch Front area, including Tooele County, was placed under fire restrictions. 

The restrictions, which went into effect on July 6, affect all unincorporated private land within Tooele County, according to Tooele County Fire Warden Daniel Walton. As a result of the restrictions, fireworks will not be able to be used for Pioneer Day celebrations in Stansbury Park, Lake Point and other unincorporated areas. 

Other activities prohibited under the fire restrictions include setting open fires except in designated areas such as improved campgrounds, picnic areas or home sites with access to running water; smoking near dry vegetation, using a motorcycle, ATV, chainsaw or other device with an internal combustion engine without an approved spark arrestor; and cutting, welding or grinding metal near dry vegetation. 

Any violation of the fire restriction order is a violation of state law and could result in up to six months in jail and a fine of $1,000. The fire restrictions do not apply to private land within incorporated town or city limits. 

Despite dry conditions and high heat, Walton said there were less fire-related calls than expected on Fourth of July. 

There were five fires caused by fireworks, all of which occurred in Tooele City, according to Walton. The fires, including a structure fire, were all quickly suppressed by the Tooele City Fire Department. 

Firefighters also responded to an off-highway vehicle that caught fire at Five Mile Pass on July 4, according to Walton. The driver and passenger were injured in the fire but are expected to recover; the fire was contained to half an acre.

Another fire the same day was caused by an illegal debris burn in Terra gone wrong, Walton said. The landowner did not have a burn permit and was attempting the debris burn during the closed fire season under a red flag warning. 

The landowner had hoses ready and was able to prevent the fire from leaving his property onto adjacent Bureau of Land Management land, according to Walton. The landowner was charged with misdemeanor burning without a permit and will be sent an invoice for the cost of the fire response.

A West Jordan man has been charged with aggravated assault after he allegedly stabbed another man in an altercation last month in Tooele. 

John M. Morris, 26, is charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury and misdemeanor obstructing justice. 

Tooele City police were dispatched to Mountain West Medical Center on June 30 on a report of a stabbing, according to a probable cause statement. When officers arrived at the hospital, they found a male victim who had been stabbed three times — once in the face and twice in the left shoulder. 

A witness who transported the victim to the hospital said the stabbing occurred at an apartment on Vine Street and identified Morris as the suspect, the statement said. When officers arrived at the Vine Street apartment, they detained Morris and transported him to the police department to be interviewed. 

When police spoke with the victim, he said he was drinking and got into an argument with Morris, the statement said. The victim said Morris stabbed his face, then the victim punched Morris, before being stabbed two more times in the shoulder. 

The witness said he thought Morris and the victim had only punched each other until he heard the victim said he’d been stabbed, according to the probable cause statement.

During his interview with police, Morris said he’d been drinking at the apartment with friends and the victim, the statement said. He said the victim was being rude and verbally abusive. 

Morris said the victim did not make threats on his life or have any weapons, but he felt his life was threatened, according to the probable cause statement. Morris told police he went to his car and retrieved a fixed-blade knife with a sheath, which he attached to his belt.

Morris said the victim continued to be rude and belittle him, the statement said. According to Morris, the victim walked toward him in a way that appeared he wanted to fight. 

Morris said his hand was on the handle of the knife but it was still sheathed when the victim approached, according to the probable cause statement. Morris told police he “blacked out” and the next thing he remembers is the victim yelling that he was stabbed. 

Morris said he doesn’t remember taking the knife out of its sheath but he remembers seeing blood on his knife and wiping it off on his pants, the statement said. He showed police a blood stain on his pants. 

When asked about the location of the knife, Morris said he left it on top of his car, which was driven away by a friend, according to the probable cause statement. Police found a knife matching the description Morris gave in a shed on the Vine Street property. 

During an initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Monday, Morris’s bail was set at $10,000. He is scheduled to return to court on July 16 at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Matthew Bates.

Two of the calves sickened after rat poison was put in their water trough in June at the Bit n’ Spur rodeo grounds have still not recovered and the investigation continues, according to their owner.

Of the calves, 30 are back on feed and do not appear lethargic, according to Michael Dow. Two are not doing well and have been on treatments that have been ineffective, Dow said in a Facebook post. While there was a suspect in the case, the lead turned out to be a bust and the reward for information leading to an arrest and prosecution has been doubled to $2,000, he said.  

Dow leased 32 calves to the Bit n’ Spur, which were about one year old, for use over the summer. On June 27, he found more than 150 ball-shaped pellets floating in and on the bottom of the water trough. 

Dow determined the pellets were rat poison and Tooele City police were contacted. The responding officer collected samples of the pellets, according to Tooele City Police Sgt. Jeremy Hansen. 

Back on June 28, Hansen said the police department is investigating the case as animal cruelty, but the condition of the calves, and if there was intent, will determine if charges would be felonies or misdemeanors. There are no surveillance cameras at the rodeo grounds.

Anyone with information on the poisoning of the calves can contact Tooele City police at 435-882-8900.

A semi-trailer carrying 82,000 pounds of radioactive waste dirt caught fire on Interstate 80 Thursday morning, sparking a small field fire and closing the freeway to westbound traffic. 

Firefighters were dispatched to milepost 93 on westbound I-80 on reports of a semi-trailer on fire at 7:17 a.m., according to North Tooele Fire District spokesman Ryan Willden. The cab of the semi was a total loss but none of the containers of the radioactive waste dirt were impacted or breached, and there was no threat to the public, Willden said. 

The fire spread from the cab of the truck and into roadside vegetation, Willden said. Despite the damage to the cab, the driver of the semi was uninjured in the fire. 

The semi-trailer was carrying soil from a federal Environmental Protection Agency cleanup site in Pennsylvania to the EnergySolutions disposal facility in Clive, according to a release from EnergySolutions. Technicians from the Clive facility were dispatched to assist with the accident and assessments indicated the waste containers were not breached. 

While NTFD firefighters and Tooele County Fire Warden Dan Walton dealt with the semi-trailer fire, Utah Highway Patrol closed down westbound I-80 between Exit 99 and Exit 88. Westbound traffic used state Route 36 to state Route 138 as a detour during the closure, which was lifted by 8:11 a.m., according to a tweet from Utah Department of Transportation.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and the driver of the semi-trailer had given no indication of where the fire may have started, according to Willden.

A lightning-caused fire on the north end of the Stansbury Mountains grew to 4,000 acres by Wednesday morning, but has been mostly contained by fire crews. 

The wildfire, dubbed the Ellerbeck Fire, was sparked by lightning during storms Monday night, according to North Tooele Fire District. The fire briefly threatened two homes in the vicinity, but the fire changed directions with the wind, spreading southwest into higher elevations in the Stansburys and burning 1,000 acres. 

By Wednesday morning, the fire had quadrupled in size, according to state Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands spokeswoman Leann Fox. Fire crews continued full suppression on the fire Wednesday, while constructing handlines and reinforcing the control lines. 

In addition to ground crews, a heavy air tanker was used on the mountain ridges and a single-engine air tanker was also used, according to Fox. By 6:35 p.m., the Ellerbeck Fire was 80- percent contained. 

Firefighters from North Tooele Fire District, the Grantsville and Tooele Army Depot fire departments, Tooele County Fire Warden, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and state Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands responded to the fire. Fifty personnel were involved in fighting the fire Wednesday, with equipment including the two air tankers, two helicopters, four engines and two hotshot crews. 

In addition to the Ellerbeck Fire, fire crews responded to a fire near South Willow Canyon on Tuesday afternoon, according to NTFD. Crews had responded to the same location Monday night during thunderstorms but could not locate a fire. 

The blaze reignited Tuesday, slowly spreading through three acres before it was engaged by two brush trucks, an engine and a crew from Tooele Army Depot Fire Department, according to NFTD.

A Tooele man has been booked at the Tooele County Detention Center in connection with the shooting of a 14-year-old boy on July 1. 

Dylan Aragon, 19, was booked Monday on misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and providing a weapon to a minor. Tooele City police had been looking for Aragon for questioning in connection with the shooting, which occurred at a residence on Mobile Way. 

Tooele City police officers responded to a report of a 14-year-old male who had been shot in the neck on July 1 at 1:02 p.m., according to a probable cause statement. The victim was reported to be in stable condition on July 3 following the shooting. 

Following the initial investigation, police gathered information that the juvenile had shot himself with a revolver while playing Russian Roulette, the statement said. Other people in the residence told police that Aragon was in the room with the victim when he was shot and gave the victim the revolver prior to the shooting. 

Witnesses also told police they saw Aragon run from the room where the shooting occurred seconds after the shooting, according to the probable cause statement. Aragon allegedly fled the scene without rendering aid to the victim.

The revolver recovered by Tooele City police at the scene of the shooting had only one empty shell casing in it and no other bullets, the probable cause statement said. 

No charges had been filed against Aragon in 3rd District Court as of press time on Tuesday. 

Two teenage boys were injured in a single-vehicle rollover accident south of Vernon Monday evening, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.

A Land Rover was traveling northbound on state Route 36 around 7:30 p.m. when it went off the road to the right, according to UHP. When the vehicle traveled back to the left, it left the roadway and overturned.

The road was closed for 10 to 15 minutes so two medical helicopters could land at the accident scene, according to UHP. The occupants of the Land Rover, a 16-year-old boy and 15-year-old boy, were flown from the scene. 

One of the boys was in serious condition and the other was in critical condition, with possible life-threatening injuries, UHP said. Both occupants were wearing seat belts. 

The reason for the crash is still under investigation, UHP said. 

With shiny new tile floors and crisp white walls — not to mention thousands of books — the Stansbury Library welcomed the community back during an open house Monday.

The Stansbury Library had been closed since a renovation that began in January, following water damage to the floors and walls in the library’s space in the lower level of the Stansbury Park Clubhouse. 

It’s been a long process to getting the library back together and some of the books returned to the shelves for volunteer library director Jessica Johnson. 

“I’ll spend the next year putting them away where they belong,” Johnson said. “That’s just how it goes.”

While there were books on the shelves when visitors came to the open house Monday afternoon, thousands more were still in boxes. Johnson said she started the library with 300 of her own books after the branch of the Grantsville Bookmobile in Stansbury closed. 

Following a pair of Eagle Scout projects and other contributions, the library now boasts a collection of books nearing 10,000 items, according to Johnson. 

“So there’s a lot that you haven’t seen right now that’s in boxes,” she said. “… So you can see it’s going to be quite the process.” 

In addition to new floors and fresh paint, the Stansbury Library is now state certified, which gives the library access to the state’s interlibrary loan system. The state library system also gave Johnson advice on layout for the library, which features lower shelves in a middle aisle and bench seating among the books. 

Johnson said the state library, Grantsville City librarian John Ingersoll and her library board have all contributed to making the reopened library a success. 

With its reopening in the books, the Stansbury Library will begin its summer reading program on July 17 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., which will continue on Tuesdays. The library will also host a book fair, featuring Usborne Books, on Thursday, July 19, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. with half of all proceeds going toward the purchase of new books for the library. 

Changes may be coming to the Stansbury Service Agency’s lake use policy, which the board of trustees is expected to review at its next meeting. 

“Basically, it’s just some really simple grammar changes in a couple areas and just simplifies the policy, cleans it up a little,” said chairman Neil Smart, during last Wednesday’s service agency board meeting. 

Missing from the proposed policy, however, is the word “private.” Stansbury Lake is managed as a private lake by the service agency, a public entity that collects tax revenue.  

In the current lake policy, the private status is clearly spelled out.

A section titled “Residency” states that only residents and their accompanied guests are allowed to use the lake and its amenities. Under the “Enforcement” section, the current policy plainly states, “Stansbury Lake is a private lake.” 

In the proposed policy, there is no section on residency and there is no mention of the lake being private. The policy does state that the service agency “maintains Stansbury Lake for the benefit of Stansbury Park residents and their accompanied guests.” 

Outside of the omissions, which describe Stansbury Lake as private or for resident use only, the proposed lake use policy is similar to the existing policy. No gas-powered engines are allowed on the lake, all watercraft must be registered with the service agency prior to use and the lifetime registration fee remains $5 for each watercraft. 

Over the past couple of years, service agency board members have discussed concerns about the lake being private despite being owned by a public entity. During an August 2016 meeting, board member Mike Johnson said the lake’s private status conflicted with its ownership by a public body. 

“We are the government,” Johnson said, at an August 2016 meeting. “So by definition, that lake isn’t private. That’s a public asset.”

At that meeting, the service agency board discussed other means of restricting use of the lake, including time and manner of use. The board also discussed the possibility of making the lake public, but charging non-residents a higher cost to use the lake since residents pay taxes — similar to how the Stansbury Park public pool is managed. 

The next Stansbury Park Service Agency meeting is scheduled for July 25 at 7 p.m. at the Stansbury Park Clubhouse. 

William Keebler

The Stockton man who pleaded guilty to attempting to bomb a federal Bureau of Land Management building in Arizona has been released on time served after spending two years in jail.

William Keebler, 59, pleaded guilty in April to one count of attempted destruction of federal property by use of an explosive. Keebler’s release was ordered on July 9 in federal court in Salt Lake City, according to the Associated Press.

Judge David Sam cited Keebler’s age and physical ailments, including prostate cancer and heart disease, as reasons for his release, according to the AP. 

Keebler was the commander of the Patriots Defense Force, a citizen militia group based out of Stockton, according to a probable cause statement from the FBI. For several months, undercover FBI agents infiltrated his militia and had contact with Keebler both face-to-face and by cell phone. 

Keebler organized training exercises that involved shooting targets and receiving instruction on firearms, and military and survival tactics. 

Keebler was preparing his militia to participate in anti-government activities, similar to the 2014 armed standoff in Bunkerville, Nevada, between the BLM and cattle rancher Cliven Bundy over unpaid grazing fees, according to the FBI. Keebler participated in the standoff at Bunkerville and claimed on Facebook he spent 13 days at the Bundy Ranch.

In February 2016, Keebler met with Patriots Defense Force members to discuss gathering intelligence on potential targets, according to the statement. The group drove by the BLM office near the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City to assess it as a potential site, but Keebler said the office would be a poor target due to the high commercial and homeless activity in the area.

Keebler’s rhetoric escalated about a month later in a March 19 training exercise with the militia when he discussed the government’s harassment of people and that repercussions would start, the FBI said. After determining the group would target BLM facilities in the “middle of nowhere,” Keebler said the militia would sneak in to damage vehicles or buildings.

After an undercover FBI agent showed Keebler a video of a 6-inch pipe bomb, Keebler requested he create more explosive devices and outlined his target — a BLM building at Mount Trumbull in Arizona. 

On June 20, 2016, Keebler left Stockton with militia members and the undercover FBI agents for Mount Trumbull. Inert explosives were placed at the door of a BLM cabin and Keebler pressed the remote detonator several times before the members of the militia returned to Utah. 

The following day, the FBI arrested Keebler and he remained in federal custody for more than two years. 

The wildfire that began on the northern edge of the Stansbury Mountains is controlled but not out, according to Tooele County Fire Warden Daniel Walton. 

A large fire goes through a series of phases, which include initial attack, extended attack, contained, controlled and finally out, Walton said. The Ellerbeck Fire, which burned approximately 4,000 acres, likely won’t be considered out for a couple of weeks, and fire crews will continue to patrol the area and evaluate post-fire rehabilitation work. 

Last Wednesday, the Ellerbeck Fire, which was sparked by lightning, was at 80-percent containment, according to the state Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. 

Other fires in the county included a fire north of Interstate 80 near milepost 64 last Wednesday, which burned 100 acres but was contained within four hours, according to Walton. The cause of the fire is undetermined, but investigators suspect it may have been sparked by recreation equipment such as an all-terrain vehicle or dirt bike. 

A lightning-caused fire was sparked on Friday on the south end of the Simpson Mountains, just over the border with Juab and Tooele counties, according to Walton. The fire burned 31 acres and took two shifts to reach controlled status. 

Another lightning caused fire was sparked Friday in the Tintic Mountains east of Lofgren, according to Walton. The fire burned a tenth of an acre. 

The Grantsville City Council approved more than $400,000 in road construction projects on city streets this summer during its meeting Wednesday night. 

The lowest bid came from Staker Parsons Materials & Construction of Draper, at $548,031. The other two lowest bids came from Granite Construction Company, of Salt Lake, at $687,824 and Geneva Rock Products, Inc., of Salt Lake, at $798,950. 

In addition to the bids, the city graded each contractor on a series of criteria, such as relevant project experience, project schedule, and key personnel out of a total 100 points. Grantsville City Mayor Brent Marshall said the city evaluated the contractors first, then opened the sealed bids the following day. Granite Construction had the highest rating at 96.3, followed by Staker Parsons at 96 and Geneva Rock at 93.3. 

Even with the low bid coming in nearly $140,000 less than the next highest, Marshall suggested cutting two of the 14 proposed projects to fit under the city’s $470,000 Class C capital projects budget line.

Marshall specifically suggested cutting an overlay project on South Hale Street and a mill and pave for a portion of East Cherry Street. The Staker Parsons bid listed the projects at $32,928 and $74,290, respectively. 

Marshall said the East Cherry Street mill and pave would come on a section of road under which a new water line was installed recently but connections to existing homes had not been made yet. The South Hale Street overlay would be on a portion of street with a water main line that may need to be upgraded soon due to future development. 

“I dislike having to dig up a brand new road,” Marshall said. 

The projects removed from the list this year would likely be added to next year’s project list, he said. 

The city council unanimously approved the road construction project bid for Staker Parson, with the two projects removed.

A Tooele man is charged with felony burglary and theft after he allegedly stole more than $20,000 worth of personal property from a home last October. 

Rhett Kay Brown, 28, is charged with second-degree felony burglary, second-degree felony theft, and misdemeanor use or possession of drug paraphernalia. 

Tooele City police were called to a residence on Alfred Drive on Oct. 9 on reports of a burglary, according to a probable cause statement. The residence was processed for evidence and fingerprints were found on a jewelry container that had been gone through during the burglary. 

The fingerprints were sent to the state crime lab and were found to be Brown’s, the probable cause statement said. Investigators met with the victims, who said they did not know Brown and he had never been to their residence. 

On July 11, police interviewed Brown, who admitted to helping a friend carry bags from the residence, the statement said. Brown admitted to entering the home and taking property, which he knew was stolen. 

At the time of his arrest, Brown had several needles he used for injecting methamphetamine, according to the probable cause statement. 

During his initial appearance Monday in 3rd District Court, Brown was appointed a public defender and his bail was set at $10,000. He is scheduled to return to court on July 31 at 9 a.m. for a scheduling conference before Judge Matthew Bates.

A 23-year-old Ogden man died after he collided head-on with another vehicle while passing a semitrailer on state Route 138 Tuesday. 

A Buick Century was traveling westbound near milepost 14 on SR-138 around 11:25 a.m., according to the Utah Highway Patrol. The Buick attempted to pass a semitrailer in a no passing zone on the two-lane road and collided head-on with a Toyota Tacoma traveling eastbound.

The driver of the Buick Century, identified as James Brubaker, was declared dead at the scene of the accident, according to UHP. The driver of the Tacoma suffered serious injuries and two passengers in the pickup suffered minor injuries. The driver and two passengers were transported by ambulance to a Salt Lake area hospital. 

Following the accident, SR-138 was closed to traffic for about three hours, according to UHP.

Beginning Sunday, discharging fireworks will be legal in Utah again, but only in limited areas throughout Tooele County. 

Fireworks can be legally discharged from July 22 to July 25 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., with the hours extended to midnight on Pioneer Day. Fire restrictions will constrict the area where they can lawfully be used, however. 

A fire restriction order, approved July 6, prohibits fireworks from being discharged on all unincorporated private and state land in Tooele, Salt Lake, Davis, Morgan and Utah counties.

Due to the restrictions, residents in Lake Point, Stansbury Park, Erda and South Rim will not be allowed to discharge fireworks for Pioneer Day celebrations. Violating the fire restriction order is punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. 

In Tooele County, fireworks are prohibited on any federal and tribal land, including Bureau of Land Management, military and U.S. Forest Service property. 

Incorporated cities and towns in Tooele County have specific restrictions, which limit the areas where fireworks can be discharged. The Town of Stockton announced a ban on all fireworks on June 29 for the rest of the year due to extreme fire weather conditions.

Rush Valley permits fireworks in the parking lot shared by Town Hall and the fire department, and Vernon designated the fire department parking lot as the area where fireworks can be used. 

Grantsville City has three designated areas for fireworks, including two parks in housing subdivisions. The main area permitted for fireworks is bordered by West Street to the west, Durfee Street to the south, Clark Street to the north and Matthews Lane to the east. 

Fireworks will also be allowed in the homeowners association parks in the Anderson Ranch and South Willow Estates subdivisions.  

In Tooele City, fireworks are permitted in much of the downtown area. The borders for the firework approved area roughly follows 1000 West to the west and Droubay Road to the east.

The southern border of the firework area follows state Route 36, then Skyline Drive. The northern border is 2000 North west of SR-36, and approximately 1530 North until about 520 East, then to approximately 1480 North to Droubay Road. 

Fireworks are only allowed in Elton and Dow James parks, but garbage cans were melted and firework debris was left in other city parks, according to Tooele City Mayor Debbie Winn. She reminded residents to take care of public property on July 24. 

A total of five fires were caused by fireworks on July 4 and all of them occurred within Tooele City limits, according to Tooele County Fire Warden Dan Walton. 

Maps for fireworks restrictions are available on the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office website, tooelecountysheriff.org, on the Fire Warden page. Wendover City has no restrictions on firework use within its municipal borders, according to Walton. 

If anyone using fireworks causes or spreads a fire negligently, recklessly or intentionally, they are liable for the cost of fire suppression and any damages caused, according to state law.