FARMINGTON, Utah, Aug. 26, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Farmington Fire Department officials are looking for answers after a two-acre brush fire early Friday morning, which they believe was intentionally set.
The fire happened at about 1:30 a.m just east of 462 East and 200 South, on the hillside in Farmington, according to Chief Guido Smith.
Smith said a phone call was also made to a local television station, alerting it to the fire, and investigators would like to know whether that caller was a Good Samaritan, or possibly the potential arsonist themselves.
Smith said the fire threatened multiple homes in an area where several other suspicious fires were started in early July. He said Farmington Police evacuated four to six people from the homes, but the Friday fire was quickly knocked down by crews.
“It was trying to make a run up the mountainside,” said Smith. “We believe it was intentional. We were extremely lucky that we were able to get to it and contain it.
“We cannot overstate how dangerous these fires are. We’ve made it very clear that someone is going to get hurt, and property will get lost if this continues. It needs to stop.”
The exact cause of the blaze is under investigation.
Investigators are now asking that the person who called the news station, as well as anyone who has any information about the fires, call Farmington Police Department dispatch at 801-451-5453.
