Utah Range Fire Accidentally Started by Police During Target Practice Burns Nearly 3,500 Acres

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Newsweek


BY SOO KIM ON 10/20/20 AT 5:02 AM EDT


Afire in Utah accidentally started by police has burned nearly 3,500 acres.

The Range Fire, which sparked near Utah's Provo Canyon, has incinerated 3,450 acres, with 10 percent contained, according to the latest report Monday on the Utah Wildfire Info state government website.

The fire, which began Saturday, was caused by a police target shooting incident, Utah Wildfire Info confirmed Monday.

"Investigators have determined that the human-caused Range Fire originated at the Orem Police Gun Range and was caused by target shooting. The Orem Police Officer who was present when the fire started is cooperating with officials. The investigation is on-going; more information will be released as it comes available," Utah Wildfire Info said Monday.

Orem officials said in a statement: "In addition to the state's review of this case, the city of Orem is currently conducting an internal review and safety audit into the matter as well. This information will be released as soon as it is completed."



Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/utah-fire-orem-police-target-shooting-provo-canyon-1540486?piano_t=1

[Yonnie3]

1. What a shame

In the mid-nineties I worked on a factory startup in Provo. I was bored when off work and would drive through that area on Rt. 189 to the Alpine Loop Scenic Drive (Rt. 92) past the Sundance resort if I recall correctly. Quite different than the Blue Ridge Mountains I was familiar with.

[Mawspam2]

2. Why weren't they...

...raking their forests? It's what all the good countries do.


(Do I really need the sarcasm tag here?)

[Stainless]

3. The Dumbest Place On Earth

Utah County is Ground Zero for stupid. Mormon Republican Fascist kind of stupid.

[Ligyron]

4. Tragic but reminds me of the time I set the night firing range ablaze at Ft. Sill.

Well, me and another trainee assigned to ammo duty. Every third round was supposed to be a tracer round but we thought it would be super cool to load all the rounds in all our clips with tracers. Boy, that should be something to see alright! It's very dry there in the Winter with all that wind that comes whistling down the plains in Oklahoma, esp if it hasn't rained or snowed yet.

Which it had not, of course.

Tracer rounds, for any who don't know, have magnesium and other stuff incorporated within them somehow that cause the round itself (bullet) to leave a super hot trail burning a bright red as it streaks down range helping you adjust your aim toward the target. Sparks from the dozens of rounds set the dry prairie grass on fire to the point where a fire team had to come out and extinguish the multiple little blazes. Most had burned out by the time they even got there and it wasn't that serious since there's not a lot of nature left to destroy in an Army impact area but it did light up the firing range a bit making targets easier to see.

Never did get caught but never loaded clips like that again either.

[Grins]

6. Mine was tank gunnery at Fort Riley, Kansas!

It happens!

Because of bad weather we were behind schedule and the CO said to get some of that time back - No Jesus for us! - were going back to the range on Sunday AM! To fire the mounted machine guns, particularity the .50 Cal.

Kind of breezy and range control was thinking it was a no-fire day, but relented.

One of those HOT .50 cal tracer rounds got into the dry prairie grass and the range fire began. Ever see a range fire up close and personal? Well, it was my first and - "impressive!"

Called the post fire dept. and, with our help, put it out in about 90-minutes. I think we burned 250 acres of Kansas. And called it a day.

The fun part, two weeks later (early April) were back near that range and - it was already turning green!

[Ligyron]

7. Good grief! Well, I guess maybe those prairies are used to fire.

With lightning from storms setting them off if nothing else I imagine. Probably even need and benefit from it by releasing nutrients or something like that as they do seem to recover pretty quickly.

Well, at least the ones I see on TV do anyway, lol.

[Aristus]

5. Cops, not content with murdering innocent unarmed black men,

have taken to murdering entire forests...

Jesus. Where does it end?

[AllaN01Bear]

8. all i can say is lurch groan. hem

r.i.p. ted cassidy.

[greenjar_01]

9. Our police are poorly trained and generally not drawn from the top of the class