TOOELE, Utah — A human-caused wildfire that started Thursday morning in a small Tooele neighborhood has residents worried about what's next in the fire season.
The Coleman Fire grew to over 7 acres on the edge of Tooele city limits near Coleman Street and Utah Avenue. Eleven engines responded to the scene of the fire that started at around 10 a.m. and were able to put out the flames.
Kathy Jolley has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 60 years. Her family lost a barn and a shed in the fire.
“We were standing right about where the edge of the burn is, and we seen the explosion in the shed beyond those trees, and it just blew up," she recounted.
Some residents were evacuated for a short time before the fire was extinguished.
Viewer video below shows fire burning in Tooele County:
Officials said wind played a big factor in keeping the fire away from other homes. Things could have been worse and could still get worse as Utah dries out.
“We’ve had two good winters, the weeds are growing pretty good, everything is drying out pretty quick, so it is primed for bad fire danger this year,” explained Assistant Chief Nick Wall with the Tooele City Fire Department.
Although the fire was human-caused, how it started hasn't been released.
Wall urges Utahns to refrain from outdoor work that might create a spark during a Red Flag Warning, and to main defensible space around properties.
With the fire season fully underway, Jolley worries about the animals she tends to on her property.
“We just try to keep the grass cut, and we had emus in there that we had to get out and put in the yard,” she said.
