Show home of merlin johnson johnsonjr jn an clover burned to ground in fire monday strong wind ferns fans flames neighbors turn out to help fight blaze A BY W D BUSH A fire caused by a short circuit in the electrical w wiring iri n g co completely m ale t e 1 y d destroyed es troy e d on one e of to thoele tooele 0 el e C county 0 u s oldest landmarks landmark s t the h e ol 01 old d B bush u s h h home 0 m n now 0 w 0 owned wn ed b by y C commissioner 0 m m er merlin M johnson in clover last u monday afternoon fanned by a high south ald the flames started at the switch box on the back porch of the house and quickly spread throughout the whole building and i i within an hour it was leveled members of the sheriffs office with the county fire truck the fire department with two trucks from western chemical center and ev I 1 ery man and woman in clover and st john turned out to fight the fire but realizing the situation was hopeless turned their attention to the barns and out building s and managed to save them A bucket brigade was formed by men and women of clover and st john and streams of water shot onto all surrounding buildings to keep the flames from engulfing them at one time there were flames 6 feet high in the barn across the street from the house but the plucky fire fighters managed to get it out and keep it from starting up again heat handicaps fighters so intense were the flames that they could be felt feet away and no one was even able to get within the yard A garage 80 feet to the west of the home was saved by keeping it soaked with water but trees in the yard and outside the fence became ablaze from fiery embers blown by the wind A fence at the nearly a quarter of a mile north of the house caught on fire when the wind blew sparks and hurled fire through the air at least 75 small fires were started and extinguished during the time the blaze was going on and water was still being poured on the ashes 6 hours after the flames started the house and contents valued at more than 7 was a total loss but was partially covered by insurance besides mr and mrs johnson another family mr and mrs robert sagers and children were living in part of the house all furniture clothing and personal belongings with the exception of the johnson johnsons s refrigerator one ov er stuffed couth and a bureau was lost nobody was at home at the time the fire started mr and mrs johnson both being at work and the sagers family having gone to st john for mail started by electrical wiring the fire was discovered by two university of utah students whose names were not learned they were I 1 coming from dugway and noticed the smoke coming out of the back porch entering the house they found no one home so proceeded to call the sheriff and western chemical depot then went to st john for help and returned to help fight the blaze A large tree to which a cross arm had been fastened and which had served as a utility pole tor for several years blew down causing the wires to become tangled in the branches of another tree nearby this action with the wind continually swaying the wires apparently caused the short circuit in the wiring which started the blaze according to mrs dalmas maxfield is then that the fire was believed to have been started the maxfield home Is approximately yards south of the johnson farm and the electrical transformer is located between the two ranches no livestock lost the trees surrounding the big home grass and even part of the wire fence was charred by the searing flames A cistern which held the water supply for the house located about 20 feet from the back porch was not too badly damaged although the roof was seared the pump in the basement of the two story dwelling was destroyed and a binder in back of the barn feet away was ignited by flying embers and partially destroyed no animals or livestock was lost or injured only the fact that mr johnson iad had the irrigation water in a stream in front of the house saved he the rest ot of the buildings from being lost also this was the first fire in clover since the walters home in lower clover burned down about 4 years ago previous to that the historic ire fire in the barn bam had been the last one mr johnson bought the ranch from rom wesley M bush in april ot of 1947 and has lived there ever since mr and mrs johnson wish to ex press ress their thanks and appreciation on to western chemical center fire re department tooele thoele county sheriffs office the county fire truck crew and the neighbors who worked long and hard to bring the fire under control and saved their property |