A brush fire sparked south of East Elementary School in Tooele threatened condominiums and forced evacuations Tuesday evening.
The outside fire, which began around 5:30 p.m., spread rapidly south from the chainlink fence near the school up an embankment and toward the Benchmark Village housing, said Bucky Whitehouse, assistant chief with the Tooele City Fire Department.
Since the fire was within the fence and the flames were heading toward housing, the Tooele City Fire Department split into two groups to attack the blaze from both ends, Whitehouse said. Two of the units at Benchmark Village were in the path of the fire and the homes were evacuated as a precaution while firefighters continued to battle the blaze.
The flames headed directly south until encountering a grass lawn that served as a fire break, giving crews more opportunity and space to contend with the fire, Whitehouse said.
The outdoor fire was contained within 10 minutes of firefighters arriving on scene, according to Whitehouse. After the flames were extinguished, crews remained to mop up any remaining hot spots, he said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but the fire department and Tooele City Police Department are investigating a report that two juveniles were seen fleeing the scene when the fire was first noticed, Whitehouse said.