Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers that were once destined for Hurricane Katrina victims may soon be making their way to Utah County.

According to Utah County documents and officials, FEMA has made the trailers, valued at more than $30,000, available for some government agencies at no cost.

The county wants to use the trailers for the county's Detective Division, Emergency Services and Wildland Fire divisions.

Lt. Dave Bennett of the Utah County Sheriff's Department said that the trailers they were looking at had as many as six beds and could serve as an excellent mobile rehabilitation center for tired workers.

The exact number of trailers they want to acquire is yet to be determined, although Bennett said that they hoped to acquire several for the various departments.

The trailers are currently located in Hope, Ark., where they have been stored as a surplus part of the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

While the trailers themselves are free, county employees would have to travel to Arkansas to pick up the trailers. Bennett estimated the cost of travel and transport expenses at about $800 per trailer, plus fuel.

Officials plan to use funds from the department's training budget.

FEMA representatives were unsure of how such a deal might be structured, but did not dismiss the possibility of trailers being distributed at no cost.

According to FEMA documents, the agency purchased about 145,000 travel trailers and mobile homes in response to the disaster, with about 122,000 of them having been put into use as emergency shelters.

Derek Jensen of FEMA's regional office in Colorado said that they won't be selling all the trailers though. "We make sure we have a supply with hurricane season here," Jensen said.

FEMA has been selling off many of these surplus trailers via government auctions, including online at gsaauctions.gov.

Bidders can buy the trailers, often for a few thousand dollars, and are then required to come and pick up their new property wherever in the country it may be.

The trailers for sale include a variety of makes and models, and many are completely unused. There are even bulk sales of trailers, including a 45-trailer lot.

Nathan Johnson can be reached at 344-2543 or at njohnson@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.