OGDEN -- Errant fireworks are suspected of starting a brush fire late Monday night that burned about two acres within the Ogden Nature Center.
The blaze that broke out around 9:30 p.m. was contained in the northwest corner of the center's property near 1200 West and 700 South, Weber County Fire Warden Dave Vickers said at the scene. Firefighters cleared the scene around 11:45 p.m.
Fireworks apparently ignited dry underbrush and vegetation, requiring firefighters to breach the Ogden Nature Center's fence in two spots, he said. No buildings were damaged.
Members of the Ogden Fire Department and Weber Fire District responded. The Ogden Police Department and Weber County Sheriff's Office provided traffic control.
Several neighbors stood on the side of the road and watched Monday night as firefighters extinguished hot spots at the Ogden Nature Center.
Cathy Zarkou, who lives at 729 S. 1200 West, across the street from the nature center, said that at one point flames had climbed at least 6 feet and burned a tree.
"It (the fire) was just a going," she said.
Zarkou had no sooner told a Standard-Examiner reporter that hot conditions and strong winds made Monday night dangerous for fireworks than more were shot off about a block away behind her home.
There were at least four grass fires in the Ogden area Monday night, apparently started by fireworks, that taxed the resources of firefighters, according to officials with the Weber Dispatch Center.
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