This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Val Johnson was rabbit hunting in 1975 when he first saw the plot of Herriman land he would make his home.

"Once I got up there and saw the view, I really loved it," Johnson, 67, said. Unlike the land around it, his 15 acres on the hill wasn't much good for farming, but from his vantage point he could see the Salt Lake Valley bordered by the jagged sweep of the Wasatch Mountains.

Johnson picked a spot near the only dirt road to build a house for his family. At the end of the workday as a pipe fitter for Kennecott Copper, he'd spend two or three hours working in Herriman, then come back on the weekends with contractors whom he hired to do what work he couldn't do himself.

His first daughter was born during the 20 months in 1976-77 it took to build the Swiss-chalet-style house. The passing years saw the end of his marriage and a move to Taylorsville after he remarried, but Johnson always knew he'd return one day. About two years ago, he did. Back home on the hill, he brought out apples daily to feed the deer.

"All I have to do is go say 'apples' real loud, and the deer will come," he said.

Johnson was on a camping trip near Blanding on Sunday and didn't see the wildfire raging out from Camp Williams, where it was sparked during a Utah National Guard machine-gun training exercise. It wasn't the first time. Johnson said he remembers at least 10 fires sparked at Camp Williams since he's lived there. But this time the fire torched about 4,300 acres, forcing people in 1,600 homes to evacuate.

Three houses were destroyed. One was his.

"It brought a tear to my eye. I built this house for my kids, and now look at it," Johnson said. All that's left now is a brown brick chimney. He lost everything, including two restored classic hot rod cars, a 1930 Ford and a 1935 Ford, and his passport, which he'll need in two weeks to attend a daughter's wedding off the coast of Spain.

At first, he was angry. So many houses were spared the flames, why not his? Then he met with Utah's National Guard commander, Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet.

"He said, 'I'm going to tell you who's the reason for your house being burnt down. It's me. And I'll make it right,' " said Johnson, who was himself a National Guard combat engineer for about seven years in the 1960s. "That took all the fire out of me. I couldn't get mad at a man that honest."

The National Guard has pledged to compensate victims of the fire for their losses.

Johnson has decided to rebuild in the same spot. In the meantime, he'll rent a house in Cottonwood Heights. On Saturday he got a government check to cover six months rent.

On Monday, he's planning to visit the Utah Office of Vital Records and Statistics for a copy of his birth certificate so U.S. passport officials can complete an expedited request for a new passport.

The scrub oak on the hill where he decided to build his home was blackened by the blaze, the brush turned to ash. But when he got home and called out, he saw a familiar sight: 15 deer.

"They come down every day and expect their apples," he said.