SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah County — A new wildfire quickly spread to about 200 acres in the Saratoga Springs area Wednesday evening.
Saratoga Springs officials told KSL TV that the Clay Pit Fire started around 5 p.m. as a brush fire at a popular shooting range in Israel Canyon.
Smoke was visible in Utah County as flames shot quickly up the mountain, not far from residential areas in Saratoga Springs. Residents stood on their porches and gathered on neighborhood streets to watch.
Mother and daughter Sue and Emma Barney looked up the hillside as the fire engulfed trees and shrubs. They said they saw smoke coming from their house and came out to see what was going on.
They said they had been evacuated twice in the past due to wildfires.
“When the wind changes or something else changes, you get nervous,” said Sue Barney. “Then we think, ‘Oh, crap!'”
This time, four different aircraft attacked quickly, dropping water and flame retardants. Six different organizations came to help and also fought from the ground.
“The wind actually drove the fire into the canyon instead of toward the homes in Saratoga Springs,” said AnneElise Harrison, public relations specialist for the city of Saratoga Springs. “So the fire stayed on state land.”
Residents were not ordered to evacuate, but Harrison said the communications towers on top of the mountain were a cause for concern.
“They are focused on protecting these towers because that is where the fire is currently directed,” she said.
A Bureau of Land Management spokesman said the cause of the Clay Pit Fire is under investigation. Harrison and several neighbors said the area is a popular spot for target shooting.
As Sue and Emma Barney stood overlooking the smoky hills on Wednesday evening, they looked into an area where they said people often do target practice.
“I wonder if someone shot right there and it started there,” Emma Barney said, pointing to an area along a road that is now burned and charred.
They were just glad that the fire stayed away from the houses so they could watch without worry.
“It’s great that they got so many helicopters and planes so quickly,” said Sue Barney.
“They work hard,” added Emma Barney.
A BLM spokesman said the fire had stopped spreading by nightfall on Wednesday and that emergency crews had not yet brought the fire under control.
Multiple agencies, including Saratoga Springs Fire, Lehi Fire, Unified Fire Authority, Utah County Fire, State and BLM responded. BLM said crews will continue to fight the fire on the ground throughout the night and air support is expected to resume Thursday morning.
