Three killed in Utah wildfire

NEOLA, Utah – A fast-moving wildfire suddenly changed direction and burned through a hay field, killing a boy’s father and grandfather, but the youngster managed to escape, authorities said.

A 63-year-old man and his 43-year-old son, who were working in the field, died there Friday afternoon, officials said.

In addition, a 75-year-old man was flown to Salt Lake City and died overnight, Uintah County Sheriff Jeff Merrell said Saturday. The 11-year-old boy was treated at and released from a hospital in Roosevelt.

“A fire wall came over that hill,” Merrell told the Deseret Morning News. “The officers who were here said it just started sucking up all the air.”

The fire started north of Neola, about 100 miles east of Salt Lake City, on Friday morning. By Saturday afternoon, about 23 square miles had been consumed.

In California, evacuated residents were returning to their burned-out streets Saturday after a separate wildfire near Lake Tahoe destroyed more than 200 homes and charred 3,100 acres. Investigators said the blaze was started by an illegal campfire and was 80 percent contained.

More firefighters departed the Lake Tahoe region. About 1,300 remained Saturday, compared with more than 2,000 the day before, said Steve Johnson, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Both wildfires were fueled by dry conditions in the West. In Utah, wind gusts Saturday were expected to reach up to 25 mph, fanning the flames even more. The cause of the wildfire was unknown on Saturday.

A U.S. Forest Service investigation found that the fire south of Lake Tahoe was built in a campfire-restricted area, but said there was no evidence it was deliberately set to spark the devastating wildfire.