(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) "I'm grieving for my neighbors," said Uintah resident Sally Wright, standing on the property of her neighbor, Dr. Glen Biddulph and his wife Genette. Firefighters, having held flames at bay overnight, on Wednesday resumed their attack on the 619-acre Uintah Fire, which investigators now believe the blaze was human-caused. The wind-driven fire, which began early Tuesday morning in tinder-dry brush and grass at the mouth of Weber Canyon, forced evacuations of nearly 1,000 residents as it burned five homes and a garage. No injuries were reported.
Uintah • Hundreds of residents returned home Wednesday after the Uintah Fire reduced three houses to rubble and destroyed three other structures. Officials kept evacuations in place for one neighborhood, taking precautions in case the flames returned.
The wind-driven fire, which began early Tuesday morning in foliage at the mouth of Weber Canyon, forced evacuations of about 900 residents as it burned five homes and a garage. No injuries were reported, and by Wednesday evening, residents of all but about 100 houses had been allowed to return home.
Fifteen crews — about 300 firefighters — were joined by two water-bearing Black Hawk helicopters from the Utah National Guard and an air tanker laden with fire retardant chemicals Wednesday. Fire information officer Kim Osborn said that despite gusty winds early Wednesday morning, the fire had not grown. The blaze was 70 percent contained by the evening.
Shortly after the blaze broke out, investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Layton Fire Department had looked at the area around a hillside power station, where workers reported seeing sparks Tuesday. Neighbors also reported seeing sparks coming from power lines in the area.
One evacuee, Ben Bauter, who lost his home in the fire, told a Salt Lake Tribune reporter Wednesday that he was headed to the DMV to get a new license. His wallet was left in the home destroyed by the fire Tuesday.
“You still can‘t even get into the neighborhood,” Bauter said Wednesday afternoon.
The residential areas hit worst by the fire Tuesday, in the vicinity of Bybee Road, remained evacuated Wednesday night. Osborn said there was lingering concern that hot spots in the area could flare up again and race through oak brush that had been parched from nearby flames a day prior.
As crews extended containment lines and sought remaining hot spots, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office reopened Highway 89 and Interstate 84, which had been closed at the height of the fire.
About 58 residents from South Ogden’s Mountain Ridge Assisted Living center — the ones who weren’t staying with family members — were housed in Salt Lake City at a sister facility Tuesday night, said The Ridge Senior Living Executive Director Sheryl Johnston.
Staffers there decided to transfer residents Tuesday morning, Johnston said, and by early afternoon, the Red Cross had delivered supplies and cots for the extra people. The Mountain Ridge facility was a few streets away from the mandatory evacuation zone, said Executive Director Darren Jacobson.
But elderly people, he said, are especially at risk in these types of emergencies, so they evacuated them. The air quality was of particular concern to Jacobson, who noted that many residents use machines to breathe.
About 30 volunteers, including registered nurses and certified nursing assistants, came to assist with the evacuation.
“It was pretty amazing how many people just showed up,” Johnston said, ”and then were able to get everybody one-on-one attention when they were dropped off.”
The residents were being shuttled back to the South Ogden facility after breakfast Wednesday morning, she said.
Conditions Wednesday included low humidity, moderate winds of 25 to 30 mph and temperatures that reached the 90s. Several blackened slopes in the area were smoking Wednesday afternoon as firefighters monitored hot spots.
Weather patterns as of late have not been “the norm of cooler temperatures that help us fight the fire,” Osborn said.
Flames consumed unincorporated county land, private property and land owned by the state and the Forest Service.
A driveway adorned with a landscaped lawn, trees and flowers led to a pile of smoking rubble that had been a home two days before. Another house, which had overlooked the neighborhood atop a hill, was only recognizable by a brick wall left in its yard.
Other homes were untouched by the wildfire, but charred marks in the grass demonstrated that the flames had come close — within a few feet of buildings in some cases.
Trees and vegetation have grown near homes in the area, Osborn said, which increases fire danger. Unpredictable winds that blew up to 40 mph drove the fire to and fro, she said, dooming some homes while sparing others.
As helicopters flew overhead and bulldozers worked below, it became clear Wednesday afternoon that the flames had been hemmed in.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Osborn said.
Reporter Luke Ramseth contributed to this story.
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