With pre-evacuation zones inching forward to within just a mile of many BYU students’ place of residence, a dozen graduates from the University of Utah parted ways with Provo Fire Department yesterday, citing the prospect of having to defend the campus of BYU from wildfires as a “major moral dilemma.”

“It’s not that we want anyone at BYU to get hurt, per se.” says Jerry Hall, U of U graduate of 2014 and recently resigned firefighter, “It’s just that at the end of the day we have to go home to friends and family who would loose a lot of respect for us if someone didn’t.”

Maintaining positive relationships with fellow Utes was just one major factor in their decision to abandon the city of Provo and leave it to be engulfed in some of the worst flames the state has ever seen. Other firefighters turned in their badges simply because it was “traumatizing to see so much blue” and “it would be better for this city to just start over from scratch instead of working on new construction projects every couple of days.”

“I was honestly gunna stay and help until BYU went hysterical about their win over Houston.” Explained one firefighter, who preferred to remain anonymous but would be attending The U for medical school in the near future, “You win one game and suddenly you’re the greatest team that ever was and God himself is calling the plays. I’m out.”

Although worried at the sudden loss of manpower at this crucial time, Fire Chief Roberts understands the conflict of interest. To fill the vacancies left in the fire fighting force, Roberts is currently going through resumes submitted by BYU students. He’s hopeful that they can find enough qualified people, but is also concerned that firefighters who graduated from BYU would make no effort to defend the MARB, gym, or parking lots reserved for Administrators and Graduate students.