A firefighter, Tom Ascher, pushed the fire back from the pile.
Fierce winds had already pushed the fire to within four miles of the 1,000-year-old 1,000-year-old 1,000-year-old
Firefighters were concerned the winds may push the fire towards Swan Bay and Medowie.
Shifting winds in Utah pushed the fire toward homes in a subdivision about 10 miles outside Park City.
Wind gusts up to 41 miles an hour pushed the fire to the east and southeast, toward town.
Dry, windy conditions pushed the fire toward the city of Los Alamos and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, burning more than 42,000 acres and 400 homes before it was contained.
"It also looks like the winds are going to push the fire where it already has burned," Darren McCollum, a weather service meteorologist, said.
While they will be cooler and more moist, and therefore help firefighters, Mr. Hilgendorf said there is also "somewhat of a danger because now the winds will push the fire in a completely different direction".
Then, in response to billowing smoke, a man in an adjacent room flung open a window and propped a door open with a chair; instead of dissipating the condition, that action allowed wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour to shoot "the flames back inside, creating a blowtorch effect" and pushing the fire into a common hallway, according to a Fire Department news release.
Winds pushed the fire and embers at a rapid rate, ultimately burning more than 1,700 acres.
