Crews battling the North Eden Fire east of Bear Lake narrowly avoided injury Thursday, when the wind-driven blaze moved in on them as they tried to fix a stalled fire engine.
Firefighters had taken two engines to the western flank when one of the vehicles stopped because of an unspecified mechanical issue, according to a news release from state fire officials. Firefighters from both engines tried to fix the vehicle but were stopped short as flames moved toward the area, cutting off their escape route.
The firefighters fled the vehicles and moved into a nearby area that had already burned, known as “the black," to escape the flames.