By Amy Nelson
anelson@newsroom.byu.edu
The fire that raged in Springville this past weekend burned 813 acres of mountain land, over twice the amount of acreage in earlier estimates, authorities at the U.S. Forest Services said.
Loyal Clark, Forest Services spokeswoman, said early estimates that about 400 acres were burned were made by looking just at the face of the mountain, but after officials flew over the area with a Global Positioning System unit on Tuesday, June 13 it was determined that much more land was burned. Clark said the fire burned up and over the other side of the mountain, and that area probably wasn't included in the first estimate.
Clark said the fire was 100 percent contained by six p.m. Tuesday, and was under full control by noon Wednesday, June 14. A twenty-person crew and one helicopter will continue to monitor the area Wednesday and Thursday, and they feel confident that all the hot spots will be gone by the time they leave, Clark said.
The fire, which began the afternoon of Saturday, June 10 in the backyard of a home in the Spring Oaks subdivision, has been named the Wing Fire, Clark said. Springville Mayor Hal Wing's home is adjacent to where the fire began, and since firefighters traditionally name fires after landmarks, they chose the mayor's home, Clark said.
On June 12 Springville Police Lt. Dave Caron said two teens admitted to accidentally starting the fire while they were smoking cigarettes in one of their backyards. Both of them have been questioned by investigators, but so far no action has been taken against them, Caron said.
The blaze spread quickly from the backyard up the mountain, coming close enough to homes that about 15 were evacuated Saturday night, Caron said.
'It was a magnificent sight to see it go up -- how a fire could spread so quickly,' said Philip Broadbent, a Springville resident and ex-firefighter. He said he could just see the outline of the whole fire on the mountain after it got dark, then the tankers dropping fire retardant on the flames.
Fortunately for residents, though the fire came dangerously close to homes -- within 20 feet of some -- no structures were damaged.
Broadbent attributed the safety of the homes to citizens acting quickly in the beginning to form hose lines and wet down roofs and surrounding areas, and then working along with firefighters and police when they arrived.
Close to 300 firefighters, several helicopters, and an airplane worked to control the flames June 10 and 11, and managed to get most of the fire put out by June 12, Clark said. She said fighting the fire cost the Forest Services $135,000, and two firefighters were treated at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center for heat exhaustion.
As far as recovery, Clark said the Forest Services plans to let nature takes its course on the mountain for now while it is so dry, but will consider reseeding certain areas in the fall.