Officials: Campfire caused Utah wildfire that burned homes

By MORGAN SMITH 31 August 2019, 12:00AM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A campfire caused a wildfire that has burned three homes, heavily damaged five more and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people in two Salt Lake City suburbs.

Officials are looking for two people who were last seen camping on an access road in Bountiful who are believed to be responsible for the blaze, Kim Osborn, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said.

Occupants of more than 400 homes fled, but no injuries were reported, said Lt. Dave Edwards, with the police in the city of Bountiful.

Evacuation orders remain in place for about 240 homes.

The fire started about 1 a.m. during a thunderstorm. Strong winds blowing down from mountains helped spread the rapidly moving fire into residential neighborhoods, said Paul Child, the police chief in the neighboring city of Centerville, where people were also evacuated but later allowed home.

The fire was not contained as of Friday afternoon and had burned between 150 and 300 acres (60 to 120 hectares), Osborn said.

Officials hoped to start containing the fire before higher temperatures expected later Friday could help the blaze spread.

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Information from: KUTV-TV, http://www.kutv.com/

By MORGAN SMITH 31 August 2019, 12:00AM

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