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Crews contain fire near mobile home park in West Valley City

Posted at 9:23 PM, Mar 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-16 23:33:27-04

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah -- A fire that may have been started by transients scared residents at a mobile home park in West Valley City Thursday evening.

The fire broke out along the Jordan River next to the Meadowbrook Village Mobile Home Park, which is at 1240 Hummingbird Street. Fox 13 News first heard report of the fire around 6 p.m.

West Valley Fire Department Battalion Chief Jed Peters said so many 911 calls came in that at first they didn't know what was on fire, so they sent several fire trucks to the scene.

He said the blaze may have been started by transients because there is a transient camp in the area. Firefighters found a lighter at the scene, but Peters said he wasn't sure if that was what was used to start the fire or if the cause was something else.

Residents who live nearby said they've seen several fires in the area before, but this was the biggest.

"It got really big really quick, and the wind started picking up right around that same time," said Blair Berrett. "Big wall of fire and the smoke was billowing up, you couldn't see much of anything."

Peters said the smoke was visible from five to ten miles away.

"The grass and scrub is pretty high in there, there's plenty of fuel load" Peters said.

By the time firefighters got a handle on the fire, it had burned about one acre.