HERRIMAN — Several homes were burning late Sunday and a quick-moving fire threatened at least 100 more as 200-plus firefighters and police officers tried to control a chaotic scene in southwest Salt Lake County.
The mayor of Herriman declared a state of emergency as officials enforced a mandatory evacuation of 1,400 homes by midnight.
Unified Police Lt. Don Hutson confirmed that "several" homes were burning in Herriman. "If they're not complete losses, they've suffered significant damage," he said.
All homes south of 14000 South and west of 5575 West were evacuated, although police confirmed that some residents refused to leave their homes.
All inbound traffic to Herriman was shut down. Police officers early Monday were mostly dealing with frustrated homeowners who wanted to go back to their homes, but were not allowed to return, said Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder.
Three Unified police officers suffered minor injuries Sunday night. Two were treated for smoke inhalation and a third officer suffered minor injuries when he was hit by a vehicle whose driver wanted to return to his home.
The fire began about 3:30 p.m. on Camp Williams property during an artillery training exercise involving machine gun fire. Homes in the Cove Subdivision and Herriman Heights neighborhoods were threatened by the wind-fueled that burned out of control in the Rose Canyon area of Herriman.
Between 6:30 and 7 p.m., the fire crested and started heading down the hill toward homes. Downtown Herriman was packed with people late Sunday watching the blaze that could be seen throughout Salt Lake County. Smoke was seen throughout much of northern Utah.
Red eyes were a common sight as a combination of dust and ashes fell from the sky.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert arrived at the scene to assess the situation. He called out 124 members of the Utah National Guard to assist firefighters from throughout the county already fighting the blaze. Firefighters reported 15- to 20-foot walls of flame moving extremely fast to the northeast.
"Everyone is sending everyone they can," Unified Fire Authority Chief Michael Jensen said late Sunday. Firefighters were outside Salt Lake County were being called in to replace exhausted crews.
Herbert said the fire had been contained at one point, but then the winds kicked up.
"We thought we had it suppressed," Herbert said. "It's these horrific winds that are causing the problem."
"Everything that can be done is being done," he said, calling it a "very serious situation."
The first mandatory evacuation order for more than 200 homes was issued by the Herriman mayor about 5:20 p.m. The order was issued using a reverse 911 call system. Five police cars were also dispatched to the area to warn residents using loud speakers and by knocking on doors.
Volunteers have been working feverishly to evacuate animals from the area which has a high horse population.
At the Ching Animal Farm and Rescue, people with trailers were trying to move more than 200 animals including horses, goats, pigs, ducks, chickens, dogs and cats along with more exotic animals such as osteriches and emus.
"We can see the flames at the top of the hill," said Faith Ching shortly before the fire reached some of the houses. "I don't want to take a chance. Its really scary."
A short time later, Unified Fire Authority officials confirmed that houses were burning as crews worked to contain the flames.
About 10 p.m., Charlie White was walking his 7-year-old quarter horse Gunner away from the flames near his Herriman home to Herriman High School, where many residents were gathering at the temporary shelter. As he walked the two miles, he'd occasionally take a swig of water from a plastic milk carton, then he'd share a drink with Gunner.
"I'm just sharing this bottle of water with my horse," he said nonchalantly while walking down 5600 West near 13400 South. He said his horse was fine, just a bit jittery because of all the traffic.
He said 10 members of his family had been evacuated from their Herriman home when the flames got close.
"It came over the mountain and they started yelling, 'Evacuation! Everyone get out now!' " he said.
Todd Harrison evacuated his home on Sheeprock Drive with his pregnant wife and 14-month-old son.
"We got some pictures, birth certificates in the house out, but everything, the rest of it, is still inside. There's the rest of our lives in there," he said. "We grabbed the dog at least."
Myrna Rodriguez had been making dinner for her brother-in-law and his family at their Herriman home Sunday while her sister was away in the reserves. She left about 6 p.m., but returned later in the evening trying to find out information about her relatives. She was particularly worried because her brother-in-law was feeling sick and was going to go to bed early.
"I'm freaking out. I just wish they'd call me. I just wish I knew," she said.
Police officers agreed to take her keys and search her sister's house. They found no one inside the house, much to Rodriguez's relief.
Dallin Dewitt, 16, expressed fears about his grandparents, who live higher up in the Cove Subdivision. Like so many others who gathered outside the entrance to the area, he couldn't reach his grandparents and didn't know where they were.
"I don't know what they're going to do. The flames are down past where her house was," he said.
Rob and Janilyn Strom just bought a house in the area two weeks ago and plan to move in in November. They expressed concerns about their new house, however, because they don't yet have fire insurance.
"I think the guys need to train someplace else," she said of those who were participating in artillery training that started the fire.
Brothers Monte and Shane Adams drove from Riverton with trailers and evacuated 12 horses from the home of a friend who was out of town camping. Once they had those horses situated, they planned to drive around and look for others who needed help evacuating their animals.
"With the horses, the smoke can kill them when it gets into their lungs," Monte Adams said.
"It would kill me if my friend's house caught on fire," added Shane Adams.
Todd Moser stood with other homeowners sharing concerned looks as they watched the fire up the hill get closer and closer to their homes.
"See where the fire engines are? That's where my house is," he said. "Tomorrow we might be in different living situations."
" 'Numb' is the only word I've got," said Darcy Greep, who evacuated his home with his wife and three children.
Emergency operation centers were opened in Salt Lake County and Herriman. FEMA officials announced the federal government had approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant for victims of the Herriman fire, which was being referred to as the Machine Gun Fire because of its origin.
Utah National Guard spokesman Hank MacIntire said soldiers were following protocol while practicing at the firing range Sunday, which included checking weather and wind conditions.
"As you know, Mother Nature can turn on us," he said.
Shots from the training sparked a small fire, which he said is a common occurrence, but then the winds came up. Firefighters at Camp Williams tried to extinguish the fire. A Blackhawk helicopter was even used to dump water on it initially.
"It got beyond what we could immediately respond to," he said. "You just can't predict what the weather will do."
More than 200 people had checked in for food or temporary shelter at Herriman High School, 11917 S. 6000 West, by 11:30 p.m. Masks were distributed to those staying at the high school and most fire and police personnel could be seen wearing them.
Julie Forsgren and her two daughters were evacuated about 7 p.m. from their home. The first sign of trouble was when an officer told everyone through a loudspeaker to evacuate.
"So we grabbed everything we could think of importance," she said.
About 15 minutes later, fire officials went door to door, informing residents they had one minute to grab what they could and get out, Forsgren said.
"It's unreal. It doesn't seem like it's real," she said. "We're just praying everyone's home is safe."
Greg Wood said his neighbor's brother owns livestock and initially defied an evacuation order. Once he decided that he'd better leave, he had to drive through a 20-foot wall of flames to get out, Wood said.
"He really didn't think it would come down this close," he said.
Heather Genessy considers herself very capable of dealing with a crisis. But when the order came to evacuate her home Sunday night, she suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed.
"I am pretty clear-headed in an emergency," said Genessy, the wife of Deseret News Jazz writer Jody Genessy. "But I was seriously on the verge. … The people who just showed up to help me were really helpful. They asked me for direction about what to pack, and I just said, 'Just look around as if it were your house and pack what you would want.' "
The collection of relatives and strangers helped her gather her belongings and load them into three cars.
The family, including three children 5, 3 and 18 months, began packing and talking about evacuating even before police told them they'd need to do so.
"I grabbed a towel, and then I thought, 'I don't need towels' and then I thought, 'I should hang that up.' And then I was like, 'It might not even be here tomorrow.' Just silly thoughts like that."
She has shed a lot of tears, not just for what her family might lose, but what her neighbors might lose as well. She and her husband hand-picked everything about the house they built in Herriman five years ago.
"I just think about picking out our lot," she said choking back emotions and going through the lists of things one does when building a home. "I can't imagine doing that again."
School closures possible
Jordan School District officials will determine around 5 this morning which schools will be closed.
Contributing: Amy Donaldson
e-mail: lgroves@desnews.com; preavy@desnews.com