HERRIMAN -- Many homeowners in Herriman have begun cleaning their homes after the Camp Williams fire Sunday where thick smoke rolled through many neighborhoods and left a sooty mess behind.

People with fire damage have a lot of work on their hands, and people with smoke damage are finding out they have a big job to get a lot of grit out of their homes, too.

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Residents and city looking to life after Herriman fire

Herriman fire evacuees that have returned to their homes now want to see action and changes. The city, meanwhile, is studying its buffer zone with Camp Williams.

As firefighters work to put out the smoldering flames, homeowners just hundreds of feet away need to wash the sooty remnants of thick smoke out of their homes.

The smoky smell is the first thing that stings the senses. Andy Swanner with Servpro Cleaning says that soot makes the house smell so bad, he and his crew have to clean every single surface in an affected home.

"It's going to be wind-driven soot and ash that collects on all horizontal surfaces, like tabletops and floors," said Swanner.

He expects as many as 400 homes in the area could smell like smoke in the wake of this fire, and his phone keeps ringing with new customers.

"The soot could go in the air for a mile or more," Swanner said. "Wherever the soot goes, the wind goes as well."

In many homes, you can see wind-driven ash and soot around the doors and on many surfaces. Furnace and air conditioner filters also picked up a thick layer of grit.

Brent and Bobbie Parkin live close to the fire line and say the soot was everywhere, especially on the porch and in the garage.

"We had the garage door open when we were loading up to evacuate, and the ash was everywhere," Brent Parkin said. "We already vacuumed it out, but it was really bad."

At Butterfield Canyon Elementary School, Utah Disaster Kleenup set up industrial-sized air scrubbers in portable classrooms.

Six schools in the Jordan School District that were shut down for the fire did not get sooty because their ventilation systems were shut down, preventing the contaminants from entering.

"The most important thing today is for our students to resume class in a safe and healthy environment and go ahead with reading, writing and recess," said Shelly Davis, principal of Butterfield Canyon Elementary.

Insurance companies assess damage from Herriman fire

Insurance companies have sent officials to assess the damage from the Herriman fire. Some companies have already taken claims from residents whose homes were damaged.

Even though only three homes were destroyed by the fire as of yet, insurance should expect many more claims to start rolling in.

Chris Purcell with State Farm says, "I expect we'll have our share. Probably mostly smoke damage, I would think."

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High winds kick up smoke and flames in Herriman fire

The number of crews working on the fire south of Herriman has doubled. More than 400 firefighters have spent the day fortifying fire lines as high winds picked up Tuesday. During an afternoon press conference, officials said they have seen an increase of smoke and flames.

Purcell says most policies cover something called additional living expenses, which picks up the tab for things like food and shelter while people are displaced from their homes. So, policy holders should keep their receipts.

"We can never replace photographs and things like that, and in particular human life, but we're here to do what we can," he says.

But how much could insurance companies expect to pay for the homes that were destroyed?

Frontier Adjustors of Salt Lake City owner Ray Basham says, "Typically, in this area, the homes' value is in the neighborhood of $350,000 to $450,000."

That's just for the structures themselves. When you add all of the possessions inside, vehicles damaged and additional living expenses, Basham has a much higher estimate.

"Probably, the insured losses, considering the outbuildings involved are between $1.7 million and $2.0 million," he says.

Insurance claims will be processed through the U.S. Army Claims Service at Fort Carson, Colo. For more information call 801-432-4980 or toll free 877-901-4980. The Army hotline is directing homeowners to go through its insurance company and the Army will reimburse the homeowners' insurance companies later.

For food safety tips for those recovering from fire devastation, CLICK HERE.

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Story compiled with contributions from Jed Boal and Paul Nelson.

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