Around 7 p.m. July 9, a motorist driving west down state Route 35 pulled over into grass in Woodland because of a flat tire.
Authorities say heat or sparks from the car started a 4-acre fire across the street from a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse.
Jeremiah Fierro owns one of the two properties evacuated. He said part of his garage was charred by the flames, which moved quickly as he and his dog loaded into his truck.
“The fire had gone from the street all the way up the hill, and the flames were just as high as the house,” Fierro told KPCW.
South Summit Fire Chief Scott Thorell said that the flames were 30 feet high when crews arrived. Fierro expressed appreciation for the firefighters who worked on the fire all night.
State Route 35 closed for about 1.5 hours until firefighters got the flames under control. It took about 40 minutes for them to stop the fire’s spread.
Thorell said wildland fires may not formally be declared “contained” for days.
North Summit Fire and Wasatch County Fire districts responded alongside South Summit, and Thorell said state authorities took command because it started on a state highway.
“We set up a unified command with the state and then the fire was turned over to the state about 10 o'clock last night for them to sit on,” the South Summit chief said. “We also committed some resources to be there with them till about five o'clock this morning.”
The fire threatened six structures, but only destroyed a shed on Fierro’s property. He thinks it could have been worse, had it not been for the quick work of firefighters and the fact that his sprinklers were running the night before. No injuries were reported.
“Beautiful community we live in: I mean, there's so many people who called to check up on me and see if we're okay, and show up and stop and check on us — people we knew, we don't know,” Fierro said. “Just an amazing place to live.”
Thorell said the three major fires in southern Summit County last year were started by vehicle mechanical failures, just like the one in Woodland. He reminds residents to check their cars, make sure their property has 30 feet of defensible space around structures and ensure fire trucks can easily access the property.
Flames also damaged power equipment in Woodland late July 9, so Rocky Mountain Power shut power off in the area as a precaution. About 3,000 customers were without electricity between 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., according to power company spokesperson Jonathan Whitesides.
Separately, power went out in Oakley due to weather around 10:25 p.m. Whitesides said that outage was unrelated to the Woodland fire and affected 2,700 customers until 11:30 p.m.
