Bluffdale Brush Fire Burns to Within 500 Yards of NSA Data Center
Jul 8, 2019, 10:57 PM | Updated: 11:07 pm
BLUFFDALE, Utah – Volatile winds blew a brush fire to within 500 yards of the National Security Agency’s data center Monday but crews were able to keep the flames in check before they advanced any further.
Unified Fire Authority spokesman Keith Garner said the fire broke out on private land near the NSA data center and Camp Williams property and then quickly spread to 10 acres.
“It started with construction happening just west of Redwood Road,” Garner said. “There was a civilian area. They were putting in a water tank for a future development and they’re thinking the fire originated from there.”
Garner said later that it may have been an accidental start with some heavy machinery but fire investigators were continuing to look into the matter.
Firefighters cautioned that grasses and brush were quickly drying out and that the fire risk was only expected to rise with temperatures later in the week.
He warned people to be careful.
“It definitely is the time to start to worry about it a little bit,” Garner said. “It still definitely could have been a bigger deal than it was. We got lucky.”