Fiery Saturday afternoon

Yesterday, around 2 pm, I got a text message from my daughter in law with a picture of Mt. Olympus under what appeared a cloud. I responded humorously to it, until I noticed that it suddenly became cloudy out, stepped out of the house and was hit by the pungent smell of smoke. 

She was right, it was both unusual and serious! 

The fire started as the exhaust of a vehicle catalytic converter ejected hot particles off the roadside, igniting a brush fires south of Interstate 80, near Parleys Summit, a few miles away from Summit Park, the beginning of the Greater Park City area. 

Around 3:25 pm, the fire had grown to about 2,000 acres (800 ha) and was moving fast. Several firefighting companies got immediately on the scene and began fighting the blaze with air and ground crews, including Salt Lake Unified agencies. 

As of 3:45 pm there had been 12 aircraft, in the air dropping water and fire retardant. 

The fire forced the evacuation of 6 to 8,000 people living in the western part of Park City greater area to the local High School and evacuation orders are going to stay through the day if not later, as crews continue to work on the fire...