Layton fire grows to 117 acres, all evacuations to be lifted

LAYTON — A wildfire burning in the hills above Layton grew to over 100 acres overnight. Though it wasn't directly threatening any homes, it forced the evacuation of dozens of houses Tuesday morning, officials said. All evacuations were expected to be lifted by 7:30 p.m., fire officials said.

The Snoqualmie Fire has burned about 117 acres and is 0% contained, according to Utah fire officials.

Fire officials said early Tuesday morning the blaze had burned about 250 acres but later corrected that number to 117 acres. No structures had been damaged or destroyed.

Some of the evacuation orders were lifted at 11 a.m. Tuesday, officials said. People who were previously evacuated and live along 1850 North, Maxine Drive, 3300 East and Boulder Drive were allowed back into their homes, according to U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Kim Osborn.

An estimated 50-60 homes in the Fernwood area remained under an evacuation order Tuesday morning, including Snoqualmie Circle, Fernwood Drive east of 3200 East, and all of Fernwood Circle, Osborn said.

Layton Fire Battalion Chief Jason Cook said. Flames got within 100-200 yards of some homes Monday night but did not damage any structures.

As the fire moved southwest, officials ordered more mandatory evacuations of another 50-60 homes for all addresses east of Valley View Drive on Boulder Drive, Maxine Drive and 1850 North.

Officials originally set up two sites for evacuees: one at Mountain View Baptist Church and the other at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse on Cherry Lane. They were consolidated on Tuesday morning. The church off Cherry Lane was closed while the Mountain View Baptist Church at 2585 E. 3000 North remained open, KSL TV reported.

Cook said the southwest portion of the fire, which was closest to homes on Monday, has been mostly knocked down. Fire officials were confident that that area of the fire will no longer present a threat to homes, Cook added.

The fire began just before 10 p.m. Monday. The cause is unknown. There was no weather in the area, so authorities determined it was not lightning-caused, Cook said.

They were not ruling out that the fire could have been human-caused, Cook said. Anyone who saw anything out of the ordinary in the area around 9:30 p.m. Monday is asked to contact the Layton Fire Department at 801-336-3940.

Overnight, crews were able to make progress on the southwest portion of the fire, which was expected to continue to grow in the steep terrain. Still, Cook expected the containment of the fire to increase "significantly" on Tuesday.

Fire officials warned people to keep drones out of the area after several were reported overhead.

Davis County Animal Care and Control also responded to the fire to help some residents in the evacuated areas with small pets, Cook said. There were also some horses that were moved to the Davis County Fairgrounds and were doing well as of Tuesday morning, he added.

Tuesday morning commuters were asked to avoid U.S. Highway 89, if possible.

The Park and Ride lot at Antelope Drive and Highway 89 is closed to commuters and will remain so as crews continue fighting the fire, Layton City officials said on Twitter.

Commuters are asked to use the South Weber or Nichols Road park and rides instead, officials said.

Get traffic updates on the KSL Traffic Page.

Contributing: Ladd Egan, KSL TV, Felicia Martinez, KSL TV and Haley Smith, KSL TV

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