Crews counterattack Utah fire that saw hundreds flee
'Ash was falling on us as we were pulling away,' says one evacuee
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 1 hour 15 minutes ago
SALT LAKE CITY — Flames and smoke from a wildfire that forced several thousand people to flee had diminished by Saturday morning, allowing crews to mount an attack, but officials warned winds and dry heat would return by afternoon.
Officials earlier said some 2,300 homes were evacuated after the so-called Dump fire exploded on Friday, but by Saturday lowered that number to just under 600.
The fire had started Thursday in the Kiowa Valley near a landfill for Saratoga Springs, a town of 18,000 people about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City.
The blaze initially scorched about 750 acres of cheat grass, sage and pinyon juniper, but grew to 4,000 acres by Friday evening, stoked by gale-force winds and rising air temperatures, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Teresa Rigby said.
No homes were in imminent danger in Utah, but fire authorities said they were unable to predict when ground crews might be able to begin encircling the blaze.
"It's going to take a significant effort to get it contained," Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said after meeting with fire officials.
Herbert, who said that 20 of the state's 400 wildfires this season had been caused by target shooters, was asking the state's cities and counties to consider banning all fireworks and imposing ordinances to restrict the use of firearms.
"We can do better than that as Utahns," Herbert said. "Now is not a good time to take your gun outside and start shooting in cheat grass that's tinder dry."
The governor said the state would seek aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help cover costs of the fire. Nearly 200 firefighters were working the blaze, with air support from an air tanker and a helicopter, and more help was expected.
Sheriff's deputies with bullhorns rolled through Saratoga Springs neighborhoods ordering the first evacuations at about 10 a.m., after flames had burned to within half a mile of homes.
By midday, evacuations were expanded to include a portion of nearby Eagle Mountain, just east of Saratoga Springs.
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