Homes evacuated in Tollgate Canyon fire

SILVER SUMMIT — At least four homes are being evacuated on Summit County’s Forest Meadow Road, as crews fight a quickly growing brush fire in Tollgate Canyon.

Officials in Park City say the Blue Sky/High West Distillery was also evacuated, as a precaution. Some residents in Tollgate Canyon, like Amy Harvison, evacuated themselves and didn’t to take any chances.

“I didn’t want to get in a last minute situation.  I have a four-month old child and two other children,” Harvison says. “It’s just easier to get out now before we got into a dire situation where we had to get out in a limited time frame.”

The cause is not yet known.  It was first reported at 2 p.m. and just four hours later it had blackened over 300 acres.  There are no reports of any structures being damaged and only one was being threatened, but, Summit County Spokesperson Krachel Murdock says there are a lot of buildings in the area.

Murdock says, “Up here, in the Tollgate area, we have 400 homes that we’re keeping an eye on.  Of those 400 homes, 200 of them are full-time residences.”

Some of the people who were evacuated were allowed to go home, very briefly.  Murdock says, “We do have a couple of residents who have approached us.  They’ve been concerned about pets that were left behind.”

Summit County officials confirmed North Summit, Summit County and Park City firefighters were on scene helping fight the flames with support from planes and helicopters in the air and bulldozers on the ground.  One of those bulldozers is owned by a private citizen, who has been digging trenches to keep the flames away from property.

Tollgate Canyon Road is closed for the response, but the Park City Fire Department was allowing anyone who wanted to leave to do so through Redhawk Ridge Road.

Flames and smoke were visible along I-80 in both directions near Silver Summit.