CENTERVILLE -- Four men suspected of starting a brush fire Monday night while target shooting could face criminal charges, authorities said Tuesday.
Proscutors are screening the case against the men who face possible misdemeanor charges of illegally discharging a firearm and possesion of illegal fireworks, said Davis County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Susan Poulsen. The identities of the men were not released.
The 13-acre wildfire was ignited near Centerville Canyon about 8:30 p.m. Monday by four men trap-shooting, authorities said.
Poulsen said firefighters finished mopping up small hot spots Tuesday.
Poulsen said there were no injuries or homes damaged in the fire.
"Shooting starts fires when it's as dry as it is," Poulsen said.
Centerville Police Lt. Paul Child said the fire started outside city boundaries on private land, and residents of three homes were asked to leave in case a wind shift moved the fire closer to homes.
The evacuation was a precautionary measure, Child said, rather than the homeowners and homes being in imminent danger.
The decision to ask residents to leave their houses was made after the fire began burning down the mountainside because of a temporary shift in the winds, carrying the flames toward the city, Child said.
"Any fire that happens (there) on the mountainside is of a concern to the city," he said.
This is the second wildfire that has occurred in that particular area in the last few years, Child said.
The problem is that the land being used by some as a "clandestine" firing range is outside the city, making it difficult to regulate, Child said.
"Some of the mountainside is in the city, some of it is not," Child said.
About 40 firefighters from Davis and Weber counties, Layton city, the Forest Service and the state responded to the fire.
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