A brush fire in the foothills behind the University of Utah threatened homes near Salt Lake City’s Popperton Park on Monday evening, before firefighters corralled the flames with the help of three aircraft.
Assisting ground crews were two airplanes and a helicopter dropping chemical retardants.
Dubbed the Connecticut Fire, the flames ignited about 6:30 p.m. Monday above the I.J. & Jeanné Wagner Jewish Community Center in Dry Canyon, which the heavily used Bonneville Shoreline Trail passes through, and spread west toward the upscale residential area near the Block U. Two homes were briefly evacuated, and residents of 12 more were put on alert before ground crews — along with the aircraft — fought back the fire.
By Tuesday morning, it had burned 32 acres and was 15% contained.
The fire’s cause remains under investigation.
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