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Courtney Orton ReportingAn abandoned home in West Valley goes up in flames overnight, but this wasn't a typical house fire. A couple of factors made it difficult for crews to fight.
First: a live, downed power line. Crews had to wait for the power company to shut off that line before they could go to work. Firefighters don't know if the downed power line caused the fire or if it was a result of the fire.
Also, the vacant house at 1400 West and 2300 South was surrounded by trees and dry grass, which fueled the fire. Still, it took crews just under an hour to get the flames under control.
Kris Romijn of the West Valley City Fire Department said, "To begin with it's energized, so obviously there is a hazard there. Additionally ... we do have problems with it starting grass on fire in this wooded area, and that may have been a problem."
Firefighters were concerned about an apartment building next to the house. But it didn't burn.
Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the fire.
