Update: Wildfire near Bountiful now 100 percent contained

A wildfire above the Bountiful foothills is now 100 percent contained and all area closures are now open, officials said Sunday. Photo Courtesy: Utah Fire Info

BOUNTIFUL, Utah, Sept. 3, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A wildfire above the Bountiful foothills is now 100 percent contained and all area closures are now open, officials said Sunday.

All trails that were closed due to the fire reopened at 8 a.m. Sunday, according to tweets from Utah Fire Info.

The fire, dubbed the Summerwood Fire, swelled to 150 acres at its biggest after sparking to life Tuesday night.

Early on Tuesday evening, neighbors stood peering up, toward the fire line, worried that any change in the wind could fan flames down the hill and leave them homeless.

Resident Jackson Paddock said the fire, burning near E. Hidden Hollow Circle, was about a mile from his house. As of 6:30 p.m., the blaze had grown to an estimated 30 acres, and remained at 0 percent contained, according to a tweet from UtahFireInfo.

“We can see the cops up there,” Paddock said. “Everyone is trying to stay calm. Some of my neighbors are actually evacuating right now. My friend is pretty panicked. He just got a call to leave.”

Paddock’s family hadn’t been asked to evacuate, but was beginning to formulate a plan in case it happened, he said.

“I’m trying to stay calm, but I’m freaking out a bit,” he said. “I think it may come down. They say the winds are going to change and it’s going to come down.”

Residents stood safely below the fire line, watching to see if the flames might get any closer to their homes.

Aaron Bushnell shot video.

“This happens pretty much every year,” he said. “The hills get dry  and something happens. It doesn’t look like this was a controlled burn. If it was, it got away from them.”

Resident Lee Redd said the fire seemed to be about a quarter mile from his home.

“I told my wife to get the important documents assembled in case we need to leave quickly,” he said.

Neighbor Mike Holm was one step ahead.

“My wife is in the car, ready to go, with our documents in a fireproof box,” he said.

Redd said he worries about recreational vehicles.

“People may not realize when they take motorcycles, trucks or ATVs out on the hills, they get hot and can start a fire. That’s the concern I have, living in the canyon.”

Resident Sue Anderson didn’t take the sirens seriously at first.

“I finally got up and looked out the window, and there were fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, everything. I thought, ‘Oh, there’s something serious going on.'”

So Anderson leashed her golden doodle, Misty, and headed out to investigate.

“We moved to Bountiful in about 1971, and I haven’t seen anything so close to my home,” she said. “I’m concerned, but these guys (firefighters) are good. I’ve seen planes dropping pretty pink-red fire retardant, and helicopters dropping water buckets, too. I just hope they can get it out before the canyon winds start, and spread the fire.”

 

 

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