Fire crews along the Wasatch Front battled a handful of field and mountainside fires Sunday afternoon, and while a few burned near major roads or neighborhoods, no buildings were ever threatened.
Crews worked all day Sunday to contain a fire above Farmington that officials said was started by illegal fireworks.
The Steed Canyon fire started just after 11 p.m. Saturday. The Davis County Sheriff's Office received several calls reporting the fire, including one from a 19-year-old Kaysville man who said he was responsible for starting it, according to a news release.
That news release said the fire had consumed between 80 and 100 acres as of 5 a.m. Sunday. Sheriff's office dispatchers contacted Sunday evening said the fire's size had remained about the same throughout the day, but crews will likely be working on putting the fire out over the next couple of days.
A firebreak has been established on the west side of the fire to keep it away from homes, and crews were focusing on keeping the fire from jumping that line.
The fire is being fought by crews from the Farmington Fire Department with help from firefighters from several surrounding cities. The U.S. Forest Service provided extra manpower and aerial fire retardant drops.
According to the news release, officials are continuing to investigate the fire.
In West Valley City, a fire started in a garbage pile and burned about 5 acres of field grasses Sunday afternoon. It spewed black smoke into the air but did no damage to nearby buildings.
The fire burned just north of U-201 and east of 7200 West, near the Rocky Mountain Raceway. It started around 4 p.m. in a large pile that included tires, vehicles, tree trunks "and all other kinds of garbage," West Valley Fire Battalion Chief Moose Barkdull said. Fire officials do not know how the fire started.
Crews had the fire contained in a little more than an hour, Barkdull said. By 9 p.m., crews were covering remaining hot spots with dirt, but the fire was completely under control.
Three fire engines and a fire truck responded from the West Valley Fire Department, and West Jordan and Salt Lake County also each sent one engine crew. In total, 22 firefighters worked on that blaze.
And in Draper, the Unified Fire Authority battled a fire on South Mountain. Twelve units were fighting the fire, which was north of the mountain's hang-gliding park.
An Interagency Fire Agency helicopter was called in to drop water on the fire. The fire did not threaten any structures. Crews were still fighting the fire at press time Sunday.
Several other smaller fires burned in fields throughout the valley Sunday.
E-MAIL: dsmeath@desnews.com