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PLEASANT GROVE — Firefighters say one home is a total loss following a fire that was started by discarded fireworks.
Crews from multiple Utah County fire departments responded to the home near 1500 N. 500 East early Friday.
The fire started after someone gathered up their Fourth of July fireworks and put them in a trash can in the home's garage. The flames quickly spread into the attic before the roof collapsed, said Pleasant Grove Fire Chief Andrew Engemann.
"We all love fireworks, they're fun to watch. But we've got to be super careful. We've got to be very vigilant in what we do with them, how we use them, especially after they are used," Engemann said.
No one was inside the home at the time of the fire. Damage was estimated at between $800,000 and $1 million.
Authorities say to soak both spent and unused fireworks in water for a few hours before discarding and keep a bucket of water nearby to extinguish malfunctioning devices. Fireworks are legal to set off Friday, along with July 22-25 for Pioneer Day and Dec. 31-Jan. 1, 2025, at 1 a.m. for New Year's Eve.
These annual timeframes arrive this year as prime wildfire conditions are starting to build up after back-to-back wet winters helped create more vegetation that is beginning to dry out this summer.
The Great Basin Coordination Center updated its seasonal outlook on Monday, listing above-normal fire risk in southwest and northwest Utah for July.
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Josh Ellis
