Park City Fire District crews quickly extinguished a wildland fire in Hoytsville early on Saturday morning and prevented more damage from occurring.
Firefighters in Coalville were dispatched around 12:19 a.m. following reports of a tree and possibly a shed on fire. When emergency crews arrived around eight minutes later, they discovered a three-bay detached garage with heavy smoke and flames on the backside of the structure, according to North Summit Fire District Chief Ben Nielson.
A fire captain also discovered a large tree, chicken coop storage shed and large pile of firewood with 30-foot flames behind the structure. The fire caused two windows to be broken and the flames entered the large garage and exited from the eaves. The Park City Fire District, which has temporarily taken over fire services in North Summit, requested two additional engines and a backcountry vehicle — in addition to the fire truck and ambulance that initially responded — to help battle the flames.
Michelle Andersen, the administrative assistant for the Park City Fire District, said crews began an exterior fire attack using tank water until they were able to secure a water source.
The captain noticed the interior rafters were beginning to sag and notified firefighters that a collapse was imminent. Additional units arrived and helped knock down the fire, according to Andersen. Crews then visited the site every one to two hours to make sure the flames didn’t rekindle.
Nielson said that although there was a lot of property damaged during the fire, there were no injuries sustained. He added that the firefighters did a great job preventing the fire from spreading east where farmworkers were living in a nearby structure.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation as of Monday, but Nielson said it may have been caused by a neighbor who was burning their fence line. Dry weather could have also been a factor.
“It’s important to follow the county’s open burn protocols,” he said. “Lots of agricultural burns turned into a problematic weekend.”
Nielsen praised the Park City Fire District for their response to the flames and said it wasn’t any different than what North Summit Fire District crews would have done.
“The community can rest assured that PCFD did a phenomenal job. We take care of each other and make it work,” he said.