SALT LAKE CITY — A wildfire in Emigration Canyon forced evacuations Monday, but all residents are being allowed back into their homes as of about 9 a.m. Tuesday.
As of Tuesday morning the fire is burning on an estimated 10 acres and there is no containment, but crews hope to have containment by Tuesday afternoon.
UFA spokesperson Ryan Love said the fire started at about 6:20 p.m. Monday in Killyon's Canyon. The area was hard to get to at first, and because there are homes scattered in the canyon, Love said they sent in every resource they had.
"This one seems to be 3 to 5 acres-- relatively small fire-- but we want to make sure that we get this one out, because there are homes up here that we're worried about," he said Monday.
Mandatory evacuations were in place from the Emigration/Pinecrest Canyon Road junction to the Pinecrest Canyon Road/Killyons Lane junction, and Pinecrest Canyon Road was closed down. Those evacuations have since been lifted.
Bill Cutting said he experienced two very quick power outages, and then about 15 minutes later his wife noticed the wildfire across the road on the mountain. He said he could see flames 20 feet high.
They grabbed their Golden Retriever, and evacuated.
"So we didn't waste any time, and we came out," Cutting said. "And I saw a neighbor of mine, he had been standing up on the road. And he had seen fire that was engulfing some power poles, that are on the very top of the ridge."
When asked if power lines may have been to blame, Love said they had no idea of the cause and investigators were standing by to figure that out.
Love said the fire was what they call a "political fire," which requires a heavy response at the start because of nearby houses. He said the fire was about a quarter mile away from the nearest structure.
One helicopter, three airplanes including a Very Large Air Tanker (VLAT), and 50 fire fighters from Salt Lake City and Unified Fire responded.
