Salt Lake City fire prompts mandatory evacuations; more than 100 firefighters respond

Salt Lake City authorities have ordered residents to evacuate some areas in anticipation of a wildfire as more than 100 firefighters work to contain the blaze.

Helicopters and planes dropped buckets on the flames Saturday as ground crews tried to contain the fire on Ensign Peak.

The first fire crew was dispatched around 4:30 p.m. and more than six different emergency agencies joined the effort to stop the brush fire, Salt Lake City Fire Department Division Chief Bob Silverthorne said at a news briefing.

Firefighters ordered a mandatory evacuation of an area of ​​40 homes on Sandhurst Drive, north of Dorchester Drive, and the police department was going to individual homes to warn residents. Other areas were voluntarily evacuated, Silverthorne said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage to structures, he said.

Authorities do not know the exact cause or origin of the fire and cannot immediately provide the area affected or the percentage that has been contained by firefighters, he said.

The region’s heat and wind made it difficult to clearly determine where the fire would move, but conditions could make for a “fast-spreading fire” that prompted authorities to issue early warnings, he said.

A Utah Capitol building, located about 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers) from Ensign Peak, was being used as a shelter for those who evacuated and wanted to escape the heat outside, Silverthorne said.