US News
Machine guns fire up blaze
Sep 20, 2010, 23:26 GMT
Los Angeles - US National Guard soldiers practicing their machine-gunning skills ignited a major blaze in Utah, officials said Monday.
The so-called Herriman fire had burned some 1,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of an estimated 5,000 people from approximately 1,600 homes, authorities said.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert said he feared the fire would get completely out of control, but an unexpected change in the wind aided containment efforts Sunday night and only four houses burned down.
'I thought we'd have a lot more damage than we found today,' Herbert said after surveying the area by helicopter Monday morning, according to the Desert News. 'I thought we'd lose 25 to 100 homes. It's remarkable. In fact, it's a miracle.'
A spokesman for the National Guard said that troops started the wildfire after their machine gunning practice had ignited a field blaze.
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