A smaller, better-organized Country Fan Fest led to a quieter evening for police, according to Tooele County Sheriff Lt. Travis Scharmann.
There were only three arrests during the weekend music festival, including one DUI and two minor misdemeanor charges, Scharmann said. There were no assaults or other violent crimes connected to the three-day event, he said.
“This was well organized and pretty under control,” Scharmann said.
The Tooele County Sheriff’s Office had seven deputies assigned to Deseret Peak for each day of the festival. Scharmann said the sheriff’s office also brought its mobile command unit and several other vehicles to the event.
Grantsville City Police Chief Kevin Turner said his department had to handle several minor incidents that resulted in citations or arrests. The weekend of July 24 is one of the busier weekends in the year but there were no major incidents, he said.
“Anytime you put a lot of people in a small area with alcohol, judgment goes out the window,” Turner said.
More organization and smaller crowds seemed to be the primary reason the festival was quiet, Scharmann said. Last year’s Country Explosion festival saw several assaults and DUIs but was considered to be relatively quiet by the sheriff’s office despite larger crowds.
During Country Explosion in 2014, a woman jumped from a moving car and was airlifted to a Salt Lake hospital and a person leaving the festival crashed a stolen motorcycle. There was also a pair of people arrested after a domestic assault at last year’s event.
