DRAPER – Fire crews in Draper have been extremely busy as they’ve had to deal with two grass fires in less than 24 hours. Some fire officials worry people may not be taking safety seriously enough.
The bigger fire happened next to Flight Park at the Point of the Mountain, but, luckily it only charred a few acres. Even though it appeared to get close to homes, residents on Steep Mountain Road didn’t seem to panic. In fact, one family ate Otter Pops and watched from the porch.
One woman says, “Yeah, just to watch how [crews] are handling it and protecting us has been neat.”
Families in three homes were put on standby for evacuation, but Draper City Fire Chief Clint Smith says those people didn’t need to leave because crews were able to knock the flames away despite certain things working against them.
“We have a lot of steep terrain and a lot of vegetation in the area that’s making those areas challenging to fight,” Smith says.
The earlier fire started shortly after midnight west of the train tracks, which only burned about an acre. Smith says it was definitely caused by someone setting off fireworks in a restricted area. It appeared the culprit may have been trying to modify the firework devices.
“There was one cake that was intact down there, but there was another cake that had been dismantled in a manner to try and experiment with how they can use those fireworks,” he says.
Smith warns people not to get into a false sense of security about fire danger. The wet spring caused grasses to become thick and tall, but they’re drying out quickly, now.
“Today should be an example of even though there still looks to be a lot of greenery in the growth, it will burn very readily,” Smith says, adding, “I don’t want people to drop their guard.”