Fire crews battled a series of blazes in Tooele County on Monday as the wildfire season begins in earnest around the region.
A wildfire on the northwest side of Stansbury Island started early Monday morning and spread to encompass 38 acres, according to Tooele County Fire Marshal Tom Wilson. While the fire was not threatening any structures, fire crews and a helicopter were called in to contain the blaze, he said.
While the fire has not been put out yet, it is being managed and may be extinguished as soon as this afternoon or evening, said Jason Curry, spokesman for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
Fire crews also battled a total of 13 small roadside fires near Vernon on Monday, including one that threatened the Vernon Fire Department building and several vehicles.
The fires were spread along SR-36 between the Silver Sage in Vernon and the junction with SR-73, Curry said.
The fires were started when a truck pulling a trailer on SR-36 flatted and lost its tire, causing the rim to send sparks into dry grass alongside the road, Curry said. There was a camper in the back of the truck that obscured the motorist’s view of the trailer, he said.
Another vehicle eventually flagged the driver of the truck down, Curry said. It’s unknown yet if the driver of the truck will face any charges or have to pay for the fire response caused by the sparking rim, he said.
Fire crews managed to put out all of the fires in the Vernon area, including the blaze near the fire station that “gave us a good scare,” Curry said.
Fire season is well underway in Tooele County and the rest of the state, he said.
“We’re in full swing,” Curry said. “It’s definitely time to be careful.”