By Rebecca Cummings
Firefighters are always there for us when we need them.
I remember the first time I ever saw a wildfire; I was seven, and I did not
understand what was going on. The fire was up in the mountains near Mt.
Timpanogos just east of my house, about 20 miles away. Even from that far away I
could see the bright glow of flames slowly consuming trees and other plant life in the
canyon. I sat outside of my house on the porch stairs as I watched the flickering glow
coming from the fire, as well as the flashing lights of dozens of fire trucks. I bet that
there were at least fifty firefighters working to put out that fire. I remember that it
happened on the 24 of July. My extended family came over to my house, and we
were outside playing games in the yard and preparing to light some fireworks.
Instead of a firework show, we got to watch a wildfire show.
I remember the next time I saw a wildfire; it was on the mountain right next to
my neighborhood. Not two miles away a huge wildfire came up over the far side of
the mountain close to Camp Williams and crawled over onto the Herriman side of
the mountain. It was said that the fire was caused by a bullet-- shot by one of the
soldiers at Camp Williams-- ricocheted off of a rock, which caused a small spark.
Now Utah, in general, is a dry state, and the plant life on the mountains near
Herriman is also quite dry; mostly weeds, trees, sage brush, and dry grass. Normally
a small spark would not cause any damage or harm, but it was a very windy day out,
and the spark managed to light a small patch of dry grass on fire. That patch quickly
grew into a small field, then half of the hill side, and very soon the entire hill was
covered in flames.
It is amazing how fast a fire can spread; one minute it is just a small flame,
barely able to stay alight, and the next moment it has spread across a small field.
Fire, by itself, is very dangerous. Fire with wind as an ally is ten times more
dangerous. The wind spread the fire across the mountain like water spilling over a
table. In just a few minutes the fire had grown out of control. It climbed over the
The picture below is a picture of the first
Herriman fire. I took this picture from the
bottom of the hill that was burning. This fire
had not yet burned down all the way to the
houses, but it was getting close.
mountain, one extremely tall, and extremely big wall of flames. In some areas the flames were
about 30 feet tall!
I have never seen such a terrifying, yet indescribably beautiful site in my life. There is
something about fire that is fascinating to watch. Fire is a beautiful thing; I love to watch the
flames while sitting at a campfire. The flames dance and crackle. The fire coming over the
mountain was a sight to behold. I could not believe what my eyes were seeing, as I looked at
one of nature’s colossal creations. I was petrified by fear of the gigantic flames, while at the
same time entranced by the beauty of the flames.
As I was watching the flames, dozens of fire trucks and ambulances were heading up
the mountain towards the fire. There was even a plane flying overhead dumping a red fire
retardant over the unburned land, and a helicopter dumping water onto the flames. I like to
watch the firefighters; to see them working hard, trying to put out the flames before the flames
destroy many houses. But I also worry about them. I do not believe that any of the firefighters
who worked on this fire died or got seriously injured, but it is always a risk.
 This experience was one of the scariest moments of my life. I was about ten years The picture below is a picture of the second Herriman fire. My dad,
old at the time, and I was truly afraid that my house would be burned down. I remember Warren Cummings, was standing outside of our house on the street
my mom holding me in her arms, trying to calm me down as she explained that we would when he took this picture, The picture shows the hillside slowly
burning and you can see how close the fire has gotten to some of
be safe. Looking back on this experience I have come to realize that my family was truly
the houses. The picture was taken at about 8:30 PM. I was also
safe because of the fire fighters. If not for the fire fighters the flames would have spread a outside with my dad when he took this picture, watching the fire
lot farther and destroyed a lot more property. burn. The firefighters had managed to put out about half the fire by
The fire fighters gave my family a chance to survive untouched by the fire. I wish the time this picture was taken.
to give something back to them. Over the years they have protected Herriman from many
fires, big and small. I believe that they should be recognized for their service. And it is not
just the firefighters in Herriman that deserve to be recognized for their service. All of the
firefighters from Utah, and other places like California and Arizona deserve to be
recognized, too. They have saved countless lives, while selflessly putting themselves in
harm’s way to do so. I am truly grateful for firefighters.
The next time a fire destroyed the recovering mountain, it was caused by an
overheated car that had been parked near a patch of dry grass by its owner that lived in a
house up the canyon. The heat of the engine caused the dry grass to ignite, and fire once
again spread across the mountain. That fire was right next to my friend’s house, but by
some miracle, her house was not damaged at all. It burned the trees around her house, and
even a few of the houses and sheds near her house, but the firemen managed to save her
house. There were about ten different buildings destroyed in the second Herriman fire,
and half of the mountain side was burned up again. The firemen did their job and
protected us from the fire. Even though it took them the entire evening, and part of the
night, they stayed diligent in putting out the flames.
I believe that we, as a society, owe all of the firefighters a huge debt. They have “Firefighters go where they’re needed,
saved our houses, our land, our lives, our friends and family. They are always there for us, sometimes ignoring the dangers even when
and they risk their own lives. At each of those fires there were at least twenty firemen. no one is inside a burning building to be
And most of them probably had families of their own that they had a risk of never seeing saved.”
again if they had died trying to put a fire out. I wish to thank the firemen for their service. - Bill Dedman
For they have given me protection from the flames; at all of these fires, the firefighters
were always there to protect and serve the people.