SALT LAKE CITY. – Salt Lake City authorities ordered residents to evacuate areas near a wildfire as more than 100 firefighters battled the blaze.
Helicopters and planes dropped water on the fire while crews on the ground tried to contain the blaze on Ensign Peak.
The first fire crews were deployed around 4:30 p.m. and more than six different emergency agencies were involved in the operation, Salt Lake City Fire Chief Bob Silverthorne said at a news conference.
Firefighters ordered an area of 40 homes on Sandhurst Drive, north of Dorchester Drive, to be evacuated, and police were going house-to-house to notify residents. Other areas were under voluntary evacuation, Silverthorne said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage to structures, he added.
Authorities did not know the exact cause or origin of the fire and could not give an estimate of the area burned or the percentage contained by firefighters, he added.
Heat and wind in the area made it difficult to accurately estimate where the fire might spread, he said, but conditions could cause it to move quickly, prompting authorities to issue warnings.
A building at Utah’s state capitol about 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers) from Ensign Peak was being used as a shelter for evacuees and those wanting to escape the heat outdoors, Silverthorne said.
Source: With information from AP
