Unified Fire: Juvenile taken into custody after fireworks cause Herriman fire

HERRIMAN, Utah – Unified Fire Authority officials say a fire sparked by fireworks in Herriman destroyed two homes and an out-building Saturday.

A juvenile suspect has been taken into custody, accused of playing with a smoke bomb type firework, Public Information Officer Ryan Love said.

The fire started around 1:45pm. With wind gusts howling up to 50 miles per hour, the fire accelerated fast burning more than 100 acres.

Residents in Hi Country Phase 1 area were evacuated from their homes until about 6 p.m., while about 150 firefighters from a variety of agencies worked tirelessly in the extremely dangerous fire conditions.

One firefighter and four police officers were treated for a combination of smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion.

Firefighters will continue to monitor hot spots overnight.

While evacuation orders have been lifted, some families in Herriman have suffered great loss.

Denise Howland was returning to her home on South Hi Country when she spotted her home burning, “My house was in flames. My children’s bedroom windows were in flames.”

The house she’s lived in for about a decade was one of two destroyed by the fire, “All the memories…the pictures of the kids when they were little. The trips we took and a lot of family history is gone.”

Thankfully no one in her family was injured.

Just next door, the flames burned right up to Elizabeth Loy’s doorstep, “We’re just incredible lucky.”

But it’s no solace, for what her neighbors are going through. “It’s actually really heartbreaking for me knowing that our neighbors lost our homes to something that was very reckless,” said Loy.

“Even a couple weeks ago I heard fireworks going off up there and they just ignore it and how many times does a house have to be destroyed,” said Howland.