Salt Lake City wildfire prompts mandatory evacuations as more than 100 firefighters fight blaze

Salt Lake City officials have ordered residents to evacuate some areas due to a wildfire. More than 100 firefighters are working to extinguish the blaze.

On Saturday, helicopters and planes dropped buckets on the flames as ground crews tried to get the fire on Ensign Peak under control.

The first fire crew was called out around 4:30 p.m. and more than a half-dozen different agencies have joined the effort to stop the wildfire, Salt Lake City Fire Department Division Chief Bob Silverthorne said at a news conference.

The fire department issued a mandatory evacuation order for an area of ​​40 homes on Sandhurst Drive, north of Dorchester Drive, and police went to individual homes to warn residents. Other areas were voluntarily evacuated, Silverthorne said.

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

According to him, authorities did not know exactly what caused or originated the forest fire and could not immediately say how many hectares the fire affected or what percentage of the fire had been brought under control by firefighters.

The heat and wind in the area meant it was not clear where the fire would move, but conditions could lead to a “fast-moving fire,” prompting authorities to issue early warnings, he said.

A building at the Utah Capitol, located about 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers) from Ensign Peak, was used as a safe haven for people who had been evacuated and wanted to escape the heat outside, Silverthorne said.