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Two people have been arrested in connection with a fire burning on Provo's famous "Y" mountain.
James Hebda, 23, and Camille Gardner, 20, are accused of starting the fire with fireworks.
Officers say witnesses saw the two people running down the mountain after the fire started around 1:00 in the morning.
Police detained them on the spot and booked them in the Utah County Jail. They have since posted bail.
Police have not confirmed if they go to school at BYU, or if they are even college students.
A 30-person hot-shot crew is working on fire. Two chopper are being used to drop water on the flames.
"We're lucky that the wind has worked with us and the trails have worked with us. It's kind of between the trails up there," said Provo Battalion Chief Tom Augustus.Sgt. Matt Siufanua, of the Provo Police Department, says, "If they do go to a school, maybe they need to take a class in common sense rather than in math. I don't know. But it amazes us that they were up there doing that."
Neighbors say it could have been worse. A man who lives across the fire line says, "If conditions had been different, we might not be here this morning. We might have been evacuated."
He fears the fire could have destroyed his plans for a wedding reception at his home on North Terrace Drive. He says, "Not smart in the first place to light off the fireworks; but at the same time, they didn't even bring water up."
If the two suspects are found responsible, they could spend up to a year in jail and could have to pay for the cost of fighting the fire, which is up to $500,000.
Fire officials hope to have the fire contained by 8 a.m. tomorrow.
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
E-mail: ngonzales @ksl.com
