LEHI, Utah – Fire crews worked to protect three homes that were threatened after a fire ignited and spread across several back yards Sunday afternoon.
Three homes were evacuated, and firefighters were able to control and extinguish the fire before it reached the homes, though backyards and at least one fence was damaged by the blaze.
The homes are near 2220 N. Sunset Drive.
The flames came within ten feet from the home of John Peterson.
"Yea very fortunate, good and bad, not fortunate that your fence burnt down but you're fortunate that no one was hurt and no structural damage to the house," Peterson said.
Next door, Lindsey Murphy just moved into to her house last month. She arrived home from church to see fire trucks parked in the driveway.
"My family is all that matters to me so the house can be replaced, the stuff can be replaced, I don't care about all that mess but I'm just glad hat my family is safe," Murphy said.
The report of the fire came in shortly before 3 p.m., and officials said it began when a cottonwood seed was ignited. Officials said the seeds are flammable and abundant, which made the fire spread rapidly.
"It collects along the fence line and any time you get any kind of fire or firework it can spread quit rapidly it's just like spreading gasoline on the ground," said Lehi Fire Captain Kim Beck.
Four crews responded to the scene. There were no injuries reported.
