Crews battle multiple fires in Provo, almost simultaneously
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- This photo taken Thursday, July 18, 2024, shows crews battling a brush fire under Y Mountain in Provo.
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- This photo taken Thursday, July 18, 2024, shows a plume of smoke coming from a Provo neighborhood where a utility pole was on fire.
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- Provo fire crews respond to a fire in a residential area near 500 North and 400 West on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
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- Provo fire crews respond to a fire in a residential area near 500 North and 400 West on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
Amid the sweltering summer heat, fire crews spent a portion of late Thursday morning and into the early afternoon battling two separate fires, one on the city’s east bench near Y Mountain and another in a residential neighborhood.
Capt. Sam Armstrong of Provo Fire & Rescue said shortly after 11 a.m. that crews were called out on reports of a brush fire above Summit Drive, near the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.
Flames reached about 30 feet tall, raging through dry brush. “It went through light, flashy fuels and grasses and did get into some trees and shrubs,” Armstrong said.
The fire burned near several homes but reportedly didn’t get close enough to pose a significant threat.
“Burning downhill doesn’t happen very often or very readily with the heat in the valley. Any wind that is moving is going to push it up the hill,” Armstrong explained.
The fire burned a little less than an acre, and crews from neighboring Utah County cities assisted in getting the flames knocked down quickly before it could escalate and start putting homes in danger.
“It didn’t get very far,” said Armstrong of the brush fire.
Meanwhile, just a few miles away, crews were responding to yet another fire a Provo neighborhood near 500 North and 400 West.
Crews arrived on the scene, where a utility pole was on fire near the back of a home.
The incident caused a plume of black smoke to hover over the area for a time.
“There was an outbuilding, a telephone pole and some trees that were on fire back behind the houses,” Armstrong told reporters.
The wall of a shed, a children’s play structure, some trees and a fence were burned in the fire.
Armstrong didn’t give a cause for the fire but noted reports of “popping” being heard.
Fern Nelson and Ethan Best were arriving back into their neighborhood as the heavy response was underway. They live in a home across the street from where the incident happened.
“We didn’t see a fire; we just saw the ambulances and everything was blocked off,” Nelson said.
Not exactly aware of what happened or where, they were hoping their home wasn’t on fire.
“A police officer let us in and park, (and then) we sprinted to our house hoping that it wasn’t our house that was involved because we have animals that could be dead for all we knew,” Nelson told the Daily Herald.
With a sense of relief knowing their home was not impacted, but curious of what had just taken place across the street, the two stood with another neighbor watching fire crews and responders in action.
Best and Nelson said it was unlike anything they’ve seen in the neighborhood.
Crews were able to get that fire under control quickly as well. Neither fire resulted in any injuries.
Armstrong said both incidents are under investigation.
