You can see most of Stockton from the concrete roof of the town’s new water tank.
It’s a fitting tribute as Stockton residents had to sacrifice to have the new tank constructed after a wildfire last July, said Mayor Mark Whitney.
A year after the July 16 fire, the town has rebounded from the 179-acre blaze that was the result of arson caused by a resident.
The town’s new 500,000 gallon tank was finished in April — just nine months after the previous tank was irreparably damaged in the blaze. The tank cost about $1 million, with insurance covering nearly the entire cost of the new facility, Whitney said.
“Our engineer, our staff just did a fantastic job,” he said. “The residents of Stockton completely supported what we had to do.”
The new water tank aligns with state standards, which the previous tank did not, Whitney said. The 100-year-old former tank, which was demolished in December, had been scrutinized by the state and was in need of upgrades to meet the new standards, he said.
Another benefit of the new tank is the control room is in an outbuilding, while the previous control station was cramped and partially underground, Whitney said.
The new tank’s hillside location also means better water pressure, which will aid firefighters while battling any potential fires, Whitney said.
“We were served up lemons and made lemonade,” he said.
The water tank’s completion was a milestone for the town’s recovery from the fire and the entire rebuilding process was captured in pictures on Stockton’s website, Whitney said. The images show the new tank being built from the ground up, from the initial concrete slab to the finished product, encased in dirt with only the top exposed.
Residents were forced to deal with a difficult water situation in the months between the July fire and the use of the new tank. In the direct aftermath of the fire, the town’s water supply was contaminated and it took four days until the water was fit for consumption.
Even then, Stockton residents had to deal with water restrictions that prevented them from watering their lawns while the city only had access to its 250,000- gallon reserve tank. The city only had half the water capacity and it was difficult to keep the reserve tank full unless residents complied with the restrictions, Whitney said.
The blaze that damaged the old tank also threatened several homes, causing smoke and heat damage. Some homes had to be evacuated as a result of the encroaching flames but no other structures were destroyed.
Investigators determined the blaze had been set by Timothy West, 28, who then reported it himself.
West, a former volunteer firefighter, pleaded guilty to third-degree felony arson of the property of another and third-degree causing a catastrophe in January. He was sentenced to serve up to five years in the Utah State Prison and receive mental health counseling.
It was the third time West had been convicted in two previous arson cases. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor arson charges in 2010 for starting a dumpster fire behind the Tooele County Health Department, and two misdemeanor arson charges in May 2011.
The May 2011 charges are related to a garbage can fire that spread to a nearby field while West was working as a security guard at Rio Tinto.
Despite the difficulties created by the arson, Whitney said Stockton residents are resilient.
“You’ve got this small-town mentality that really, in the face of adversity, they really come together,” he said.