On Saturday, Aug. 14, a fire broke out in Parley’s Canyon, east of Salt Lake City, spreading across 541 acres. The cause of the fire was a human-equipment error, sparked by a “catalytic converter in poor working condition” which ejected hot particles along the roadside, as stated on the Utah Fire Info Facebook page. The fire is currently 100% contained as of Sunday, Aug. 22.
During the fire’s activity approximately 216 personnel were on the scene along with six helicopters, 14 fire engines, four total crews and two dozers. No structures or homes were lost in the fire.
Reported by KUER, evacuation information was at first only given to residents of the areas in English. The reporting originally consisted of off-duty officers going door to door, telling residents to evacuate. An emergency text was later sent out by law enforcement, the text was originally written in English.
Lt. Andrew Wright of Summit County Sheriff’s office reported that residents in Spanish-speaking areas were confused, receiving conflicting reports on what they should do. Later Saturday evening, Spanish-speaking volunteers helped spread the word to residents in affected areas through social media and by word of mouth.
As of the most recent update from the Utah Division Forestry Fire State Lands department on Monday, Aug. 17, residents of Summit Park, upper Pinebrook and Lambs Canyon were under orders to evacuate. All trails, trailheads, roads, picnic sites and all National Forest System lands within Lambs Canyon, including from Maple grove to the east Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest boundary. All residents were allowed to return home Aug. 17.
