CLINTON, Utah — A new fire that broke out along train tracks in the town of Clinton forced the Utah Transit Authority to suspend its FrontRunner service Tuesday.
The fire burned between 1800 North and 1300 North, and came close to nearby homes. No one was injured in the fire, although a shed was damaged.
"[I] parked and jumped out and ran towards it and found one of the homeowners already trying to fight it with his hose," said neighborhood resident Chris Crawford. "I just jumped over the next fence into the next yard, and that homeowner wasn't home. Got their hose and basically turned it on and started fighting the fire.”
Crawford wasn't alone.
"In the midst of all of it, I could hear a guy's voice. He had seen the fire as well, and had a pest control truck with a water tank, and he took his hose out, and he attacked the fire,” said Crawford.
WATCH: Clinton family frustrated by dry, flammable weeds causing fire hazard
Multiple agencies responded to the fire, which was actually at least three separate fires spread out over nearly a mile.
UTA halted FrontRunner service at 9:50 a.m. and set up a bus bridge between the Clearfield and Roy stations.
"I want you to know, the City has been in contact with the railroad since the end of June regarding the dangers associated with the tall, dry brush along the corridor," said Clinton Mayor Marie Dougherty. "We learned about some more potential resources today, and we won't stop until we get solutions."
Video below shows how close fire came to homes (Nicholas Bassett, Tamara Hale Poole):
The new fire location is near Roy, where a similar fire on July 20 started along train tracks, forcing the evacuation of nearly 200 people and destroying three homes. It's believed that overheating train brakes were the cause of the fire.
The recent string of fires along the tracks concerns Crawford.
“I can't remember a year this bad; it's been pretty scary to see," said Crawford. "I'm definitely concerned, and I think that they should either spray some kind of a pre-emergent weed killer or have a dedicated crew to safely burn these things under control.”
Multiple fires can be seen burning along Clinton railroad track below (Ryan Terflinger):
