KEARNS, Utah — It's been hot in Utah, but for Nathaniel Garcia and Robert Kramer, Saturday was even hotter as a brush fire burned just feet from their Kearns home.
"I came upstairs and noticed the smell of fire and thought nothing of it until my mom grabbed us screaming her head off and said 'There's a fire up like 8-12 houses up,'" Garcia recalled.
At first, Garcia and Kramer thought it would be out quickly, but then they noticed the fire had started to spread, so the two jumped into action.
"I jumped on my shed with my garden house, and he jumped on the fence with the fire extinguisher," Kramer said.
While the two worked to protect their property, Kramer says everyone in the neighborhood also had their garden hoses turned toward the fire — even the homeowners across the train tracks.
"If we didn't have everyone come together with the hose and if the fire department was slower on the response, I know my house would've went in flames with all these trees and all that dryness," Kramer said.
The Unified Fire Authority said the length of the fire stretched about 20 homes, but they say there was only minor damage to sheds and fences.
"With the neighborhood as a community coming together and helping in such a time of crisis, it just really held down and I'm glad it didn't get any further damage to any other houses," Garcia said.
Kramer says after this fire scare, the trees in his backyard are coming down. But now that the flames are gone, his mind is on the upcoming work week.
"It's Sunday, and I think everybody's just trying to get over it and get ready for Monday," Kramer said.
Drone video of the fire, courtesy of Andy Munoz:
