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WEST VALLEY CITY — In one week, three fires occurred in the same West Valley neighborhood. But after Friday's burn, police are now calling the fires suspicious.
The fire burned an acre in less than 10 minutes and it is putting residents in the neighborhood on edge.
Thick smoke began to rise just before noon on Friday with homes right in the path of the flames. West Valley City firefighters rushed to the scene, but when they got close to the fire, there was a big problem.
"When we got there, it was a large field fire with no access to the field," said Chuck Cruz of the West Valley City Fire Department. "We had to cut some fences down and drive through some yards to get into it."
But that took some time, and the fire kept burning closer to homes.
"The fear is if we can't access it, if it gets away from us and we have a strong wind that drives it, then we're going to be fighting a structure fire."
"The same homeowner has seen a group of kids, the same group of kids every day for the past two weeks in the neighborhood, so it's suspicious." Chuck Cruz, West Valley Fire Dept.
But to people in the neighborhood, this was much more than a field fire. In the past week the firefighters responded to three fires, including a small fire in the backyard of a home and they're frustrated and worried. Fire investigators believe the fires are all human caused and neighbors are beginning to wonder if teenagers are responsible.
"The same homeowner has seen a group of kids, the same group of kids every day for the past two weeks in the neighborhood, so it's suspicious," Cruz said.
A fire investigator has been looking for clues, but for now, West Valley police say that no one has been arrested or taken in for questioning.
