Suspected fireworks fire forces evacuations, cancellation of Independence Day events in Utah city

04/07/2022 17:12

Homes evacuated, July Fourth parade canceled after overnight wildfire in CentervilleA late night fire in Centerville caused the evacuation of dozens of homes and the cancellation of Independence Day events in the Davis County city.Fire crews, police and search and rescue teams descended on the area shortly after the blaze was reported around 11 p.m. Sunday night, according to Facebook posts from the Centerville Police Department.Police said 89 homes were evacuated in Centerville and, for a time, homes north of Parrish Lane and east of 600 East were told to be ready to evacuate, according to an emergency update from Centerville.After hours of work, the city announced Monday around 6 a.m. on Facebook that the evacuation order was lifted, allowing residents to return to their homes.The city announced that Mayor Clark Wilkinson canceled the Centerville parade and a 5K run, citing the fire’s impact to the parade and race routes. The city also said public safety resources would not be available to allow the events to take place due to the fire.“This fire had us worried due to the wind speed and direction during the early morning hours, fortunately the wind shifted moving the fire away from homes instead of towards them,” read one Facebook post from the Centerville Police Department.As of Monday morning, the Facebook posts indicated that no structures were damaged by the blaze as the flames stayed in areas above Firebreak Road, which runs parallel to the mountains.All indications are that this fire was human caused, the most like source being fireworks. We will be working with fire investigators to determine the cause. pic.twitter.com/pzS1uVnlTL— Centerville Police Dept (@cpdutah) July 4, 2022Police tweeted early Monday morning the fire was likely human caused, and fireworks was the most likely source.“We will be working with fire investigators,” police said, “to determine the cause.”