Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
TAYLOR, Weber County — Investigators with the Weber Fire District are working to determine how a grass fire started near a greenhouse Saturday evening.
At about 6:40 p.m., emergency dispatchers received the first reports of a fire near Pineae Greenhouse, 1901 S. 5100 West. Weber County Fire Marshal Brandon Thueson said the first firefighters on scene found phragmites weed had caught fire and was burning brightly.
"(When) that weed burns, it produces a large flame and quite a bit of smoke in the sky, Thueson said. "So, this fire could actually be seen from a very long ways away."
The seven fire units eventually called out to fight the fire went into defensive mode to protect a nearby subdivision, Thueson said. It took about two hours to get the 2-acre fire out.
Investigators believe the fire started on Pineae Greenhouse property, but they did not know the cause Saturday evening.
Thueson said some of the firefighters called out Saturday night were surprised to be dealing with grass fire in February.
"It is kind of out of character that we have to be thinking in terms of wildland and grass fires this early (in the year) here in northern Utah," he said.
As the unseasonably warm weather gets people excited to ready their property for spring, the fire marshal urged everyone to be cautions when burning weeds and know the specific fire regulations for your area.
A list of regulations can be found at www.weberfiredistrict.com.
