LAYTON, Utah — After a fire spread from a grassy field into an adjacent trailer park, some Layton residents are still unable to return to their homes.
The fire threatened dozens of homes, and Layton Fire Department officials said about 30 families in the Ridgewood and Davis Valley View trailer parks had to evacuate.
"We had seconds to get out," said Maribel Beccera-Madrigal.
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Neighbors and first responders banged on Beccera-Madrigal's door Tuesday around 4:00 p.m.
"There was commotion... screaming," she recalled. "As soon as I opened the door, smoke just rushed in — dark, just so much smoke."
Flames spread in the grassy area between Beccera-Madrigal's neighborhood and Weber State University's Davis Campus.
"They were yelling, 'Get out! Get out! The back is on fire. You need to get out!'" she said.
The fire spread to just seven acres, but 30 families were evacuated, including Beccera-Madrigal and her son.
"I ran and I picked him up and grabbed his blankey, and that's all I was able to grab — not even any shoes," she said.
They went to a nearby school to wait for updates.
"They were trying to get us into a shelter because we had nowhere to go," Beccera-Madrigal said.
The fire spread quickly, taking a couple of hours for firefighters to get it under control.
"It was a pretty dang hostile fire for about the first 30 minutes," said Layton FD Battalion Chief Jason Cook. "It was growing rapidly. We had wind changes that were affecting it."
Four homes sustained minor to moderate damage. One home is a total loss, and eight other trailers were deemed temporarily uninhabitable after electrical utility service was damaged.
The shed in Beccera-Madrigal's backyard was completely destroyed.
"They didn't allow us to come back in because of the smoke and just get essentials."
She says they'll be staying in a hotel for another night.
"After that, we don't have a place to go."
In the midst of the chaos, she says she's grateful for her neighbors.
"You can see them screaming and yelling and banging on the doors to get everyone out," she said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but there were reports of minors in the area when it started. They're being interviewed to determine if they were involved.
"Just in a second, to get everything taken away and be without shelter, especially when you have a kid, is just devastating," Beccera-Madrigal said.
