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HERRIMAN — Fire crews have nearly knocked out a fire burning near Butterfield Canyon near Herriman, but not before it came dangerously close to homes.
A barn or shed was destroyed in the blaze that began about 3 p.m. Wednesday. Vehicles and a boat on the same property were also damaged.
Nine homes were threatened by the fire, and most of those homes suffered "radiant heat damage," said Unified Fire Authority Capt. Cliff Burningham.
The fire was mostly extinguished by 6:30 p.m.
A lightning strike is being blamed for sparking the fire Wednesday afternoon near the Hi Country Estates neighborhood, 13775 S. 7530 West, and it quickly grew.
Ann White said her property lies adjacent to where the shed was destroyed. Her husband, Michael White, was outside working when the fire started, and the lightning strike missed him by only 30 or 40 feet.
"He was working on a well, and it blew him out of the hole," Ann White said.
"It was really quite an explosion," Michael White recalled. "It lifted me up and smacked me against that dirt pile right there pretty hard."
Homeowner Robin Bunker said she was driving home on the freeway when a neighbor called her to inform her that the fire was near her home. Bunker went to a nearby school to pick up her children, but she was worried about her horses and dogs at home.
"You feel like you're punched in the stomach," said Bunker, who has lived in the neighborhood for five years. "You never really worry about your home until it could be taken away."
At least 20 homes were under voluntary evacuation in an area of 100 acres. The fire burned a smaller area enclosed by a cluster of structures.
An airplane was also dispatched to aid firefighters battling the blaze.
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Written by Benjamin Wood with contributions from Sarah Dallof and Jed Boal.
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