Firefighters, neighbors, wind combine to save homes from flames


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TOOELE COUNTY — Fast action by firefighters and residents helped save homes in a neighborhood near 3900 North and Railroad Circle Monday night.

Lori Hamm said she was just getting her grandson out of the shower when she noticed the wind was blowing really hard. When she looked outside, she was shocked at what she found.

“We just saw flames going clear down the back side of the fence," Hamm said. “So I got the hose and started spraying it down.

Soon, neighbors were by her side helping. Nearly 30 firefighters also got on scene quickly — and they were needed.

North Tooele Fire District spokesman Ryan Willden said his investigators believe the fire started at a power transformer. It spread quickly, consuming 25 acres before it could be doused.

“If the wind had been blowing more (toward the) west, then it would have pushed it into all the houses,” said Jeff McNeill, one of Hamm’s neighbors. “And luckily it was going enough … south that it prevented it from happening.”

He and other neighbors said this is the third time a power issue has started a fire in the field in the past year. The last two times were minor events, they said.

A shed and a chicken coup were burned in the fire; its cause remains under investigation Monday night.

Wilden said his department wasn’t aware of the past two fires in the neighborhood, but they’re going to take a look, as is the power company.

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