SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July 21, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — While firefighters made significant headway Saturday battling the Sandhurst Fire, north of the Utah State Capitol, considerable challenges remain for the dozens of personnel who have been tasked with bringing the 200-acre blaze under control.
Six firefighting agencies and more than 100 firefighters were on the scene of the Sandhurst Fire within three hours of when it first sparked on Ensign Peak.
Salt Lake City Fire spokesman Robert Silverthorne told reporters gathered on the Capitol grounds that as of 7:30 p.m., while no structures had been destroyed and no injuries were reported, about 20 homes were still under mandatory evacuation orders, north of Dorchester, including Twickingham Drive.
“And at this point we have a voluntary evacuation of East Capitol Boulevard, north of Ensign Vista drive,” he said. “And if you’re familiar with the area, East Capitol Boulevard continues up and turns into North Coast. So that would include that community up there being under voluntary evacuation.”
Feeding the fire is a variety of fuels, Silverthorne said. White to light smoke tends to come from dried grasses.
“When it (smoke) starts getting darker, we can tell that it gets more into fuels that have more of an oil content, some of that sagebrush, chaparral, some of those larger trees, something, some brush or vegetation that has a higher and maybe a denser load.”
Buildings at greatest risk are those built adjacent to wild lands, Silverthorne said. Among those, the most likely to survive are those without grasses, trees and other sources of fuel close by.
The water helicopters dump on the fire is collected by buckets being lowered into several local reservoirs, he said.
Area resident Paul Burke said he got a voluntary evacuation order on his phone, “so that prompted me out to the street and to talk to the police.”
Burke asked about what was happening, and what was kicking up the black smoke, he said, adding he was considering whether to evacuate.
“When you get an evacuation order, you have to take those things seriously. So yes, I had my go bag in my car ready to leave if the police at the corner told me I needed to.” Burke said he was impressed with the agency responses.
“There’s no shortage of police, fire and other emergency responders heading towards the fire, heading towards the problem, and serving the people protected. I’m grateful for these resources and the people who are protecting us.”
Resident Kathy Wilson said she remembers the whole hillside burning in a fire about five years ago. Wilson said she noticed this fire as she returned from work.
“I haven’t gotten any word (to evacuate), but I know that I’m gonna wait and tell us out before I do anything,” she said. “The only thing you worry about is whether they have enough water, and that’s why I think the planes are coming in and they’re dropping the buckets, because where the fire is, I don’t think there’s any hydrants.”
Wilson said the fire is not close to her house, “but I really feel bad for the people. They’re right on the edge because they’ve been evacuated and they don’t know whether you don’t have a house to come home to.”
Gephardt Daily will have more information as the story develops.
Gephardt Daily photo by multimedia journalist Monico Garza
