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Grass fire in Farmington may have been set intentionally

Posted at 4:47 PM, Jul 06, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-06 18:47:34-04

FARMINGTON, Utah -- Several early morning fires in Farmington had emergency crews scrambling and neighbors on edge, as one blaze came dangerously close to some homes.

Investigators said the location of the fire in conjunction with several nearby trash fires makes them believe the blaze may have been human caused.

Crews from Farmington City and the BLM responded around 3:30 a.m. to a fire in the Farmington foothills.

“At this time it does appear suspicious based on the location, and we also had a couple of garbage can fires, which were mitigated as well,” Chief Guido Smith of the Farmington Fire Department said.

Mike Newton and his family live next to the trailhead, and they happened to be sleeping with the windows open and were awakened by the strong smell of smoke.

“Yes it's really scary, especially because the amount of brush and dry brush that feeds right up to the side of our property, it could easily catch our house on fire,” Newton said.

By the time he ran outside, fire crews already had the flames under control. But, Newton said it was still pretty nerve-racking.

“We have small children in our home and a number of these other houses around here have small children,” he said. “It is scary to think about, someone could intentionally start something like that."

Another neighbor and an avid trail runner, Jenny, was also a little bit on edge Wednesday.

“There is definitely that little bit of fear living close to the mountains,” Jenny said. “You always wonder: If they caught on fire, and you live very close, are you protected? But I was so grateful firefighters were here and doing their job."

Farmington police are also part of this investigation, and they've set up a number for folks to call if saw anything or anyone suspicious in the area. Call 801-451-5453 if you have any information.