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HUNTSVILLE — A grass fire that ignited near Huntsville in Weber County Saturday evening and forced the evacuation of several homes was started by target shooting, officials say.
No homes were damaged and evacuations were scheduled to be lifted by 10 p.m. Saturday, according to the Weber County Fire District. The lateral edges of the 50-acre fire were contained as of 9:50 p.m., officials said.
The person who started the fire while target shooting in the area reported the fire and took responsibility for its start, Weber Fire District said on Facebook.
"Target shooting outdoors is very dangerous at this time and if you choose to exercise your 2nd Amendment rights please try to utilize the indoor shooting ranges," the post reads.
Both eastbound state Route 39 in Ogden Canyon and Snowbasin Road (state Route 226) were closed for a time but reopened late Saturday night.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox tweeted that the fire was a reminder that Utah is still in a drought and asked Utahns to not light fireworks on Pioneer Day.
Just a reminder that, despite some much-needed rain, we are still in extreme/exceptional over 99.96% of the state. This was a human caused fire (target shooting) and we need your help to make sure we don't have more. Please skip fireworks tonight! https://t.co/sBDh1l2ClB
— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) July 25, 2021
