EAGLE MOUNTAIN — The Pinyon Fire jumped fire lines Wednesday, causing anxiety among some homeowners. But fire officials said it wasn't directly threatening any homes.

"It is moving towards the east, it's kind of holding on the north, which would be toward Herriman," fire spokeswoman Kim Osborn said late Wednesday. "It's right now staying within the Camp Williams area."

Tuesday night, fire officials said the fire was 40 percent contained at about 3,000 acres. But because it grew and jumped fire lines Wednesday afternoon, the containment estimate was reduced to 10 percent.

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"Because of the size increase and now all the containment lines that we had before, it's kind of blown past that," Osborn said.

Herriman City is getting a lot of experience with wildland fires, and city officials say they have a plan to protect lives and property if the fire poses a threat and evacuation are needed.

Not only are firefighters already pre-deployed, Unified Police officers are on standby if they need to go door to door to make sure people know it's time to evacuate.

For now, firefighters in Herriman hope they don't see any action.

"We're nervous, we're hoping that the weather cooperates, (but) we're ready for it if it comes," said United Fire Chief Michael Jensen.

There is also some concern that the fire could spread to areas of Camp Williams property where there are thousands of unexploded munitions on the artillery firing range. Flames did get to within a couple hundred yards earlier in the week.

The fire caused significant damage to a key training area called the Afghan Village. About two years ago, 15 structures were built at a cost of $360,000 to give soldiers a realistic training experience for situations they might face on the battlefield. Inside and out, the buildings look authentic. Nine of the 15 structures were damaged when the flames came through.

"I think more appropriately, they melted," said installation commander Col. Clark Roberts. "The buildings were constructed mainly of fiberglass. (Some structures burned) completely to the ground. There's two or three structures .. that are damaged and will need to be replaced."

That's a big loss, because soldiers train in that village weekly. Thousands have used it in the last couple of years.

The fire has now scorched 4,500 acres. Crews hope to have it fully contained by the end of the week.

Contributing: Sam Penrod

Email: jfinley@desnews.com

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