HERRIMAN, Utah — A wind-stoked fire blazed across hundreds of acres Monday as crews rushed to keep it from reaching any more homes than the two authorities said had burned a day earlier.
The 300-acre fire moved in on the small community of Herriman on Sunday after flaring up at Camp Williams, a sprawling National Guard site about 30 miles outside Salt Lake City, said Captain Brad Taylor.
Some 1,400 homes were evacuated, and fire officials said at least 100 more were threatened.
A shelter for evacuees without lodging was set up at a local high school.
"We're going to keep our eyes obviously on the homes, and call additional crews out," Taylor said late Sunday.
Utah National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Hank McIntire told the Salt Lake Tribune that dry brush had caught fire during an artillery training session at Camp Williams, and soldiers did not have the manpower or equipment to stop it from rapidly spreading.
'Perfect storm'
"It was kind of a perfect storm scenario where once the fire started on the firing range at the National Guard base, the wind really kicked up," Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson, who saw homes catch fire, said.
"Literally, the fire was coming down into the backyards of many of these residents," he added.
Winds racing through the area at 40 to 50 miles per hour pushed the fire over a mountain ridge and into the Salt Lake Valley, he said.
"It was lifesaving efforts trying to get people out of the area because of a very, very fast-moving fire — literally moving faster than anybody could run," he said.
Several hours after the fire sparked, crews with the Unified Fire Authority crews were enlisted to help battle the blaze as it spread into Salt Lake County.
The first round of mandatory evacuations, which included 262 homes, were ordered at 7 p.m., Taylor said. Later, another 1,000 homes were ordered evacuated, he said.
All Salt Lake County residents were asked not to use their cell phones to keep lines open for emergency communication, and volunteers worked to evacuate animals from the area, which has a high horse population.
"We can see the flames at the top of the hill," Faith Ching, owner of Ching Animal Farm and Rescue, told the Deseret News just before the fire reached some of the houses. "I don't want to take a chance. It's really scary."
Taylor confirmed with The Associated Press late Sunday that two Herriman-area homes had caught fire, but added that smoke kept officials from fully assessing the damage in the area.
"It's moving rapidly," he said. "We're going to keep our crews on this."
I saw the smoke from the hill yesterday afternoon. I remember thinking about the huge fire in Washington along the Snake River, but then went to sleep not thinking much of it.
In the morning I got up, got dressed, and left my place quickly, as usual. Driving down the road, I tuned into 97.1 for their morning show. To my surprise, Herriman city was on a red alert. The high school was being used as an evacuation site. (The middle school was being used, but the fire got to close for comfort and those people had to be moved.)
"All Herriman schools are closed," one of the radio voices warned.
I look to my left as National Guard bull dozers drive past me, turning up 136th.
Grabbing my phone, I checked my messages. I had received, and missed a call from my team leader saying our school is closed for the day because of the fire.
Looking at the hill, I could see smoke and burnt remains. I know for sure several people lost their homes.
It's amazing to me how many people jumped into action to stop this fire. With the wind from last night, it must have been a hard battle.
I hope that the National Guard, the local fire department, the helicopters dropping water, and all of the volunteers are successful in stopping this fire. It looks like they are on their way to beating it.
