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Team coverage There's not much left to salvage from an Ogden salvage yard. Fire filled the northern Utah horizon with a plume of black smoke as flames consumed just about everything in the yard.
The fire burned for more than an hour, shut down traffic on a busy street and destroyed five buildings.
The fire was accidentally started by a worker at the plant this morning at 555 West 12th Street.
"I said 'Something is burning. I can smell something burning,'" said a woman who works next door to Allied Metal Inc., a metal recycling plant.
It started when employee Ignacio Conteras outside using a torch to break down an old railroad car and some of the sparks flew onto the grass. The owner told us the employee had a fire extinguisher with him, and had also built a fire line around where he was working, but the wind was so strong, the precautions didn't help.
Conteras says he's only been at Allied Metals for a month but has experience in the industry. He worked at Kennecott before this.
Owner Stuart Roper says he wasn't on site and had no idea the employee was doing that. He says that he doesn't allow that type of work on a breezy day like today. He said, "I wasn't here and didn't realize what was going on. It won't be done again."
The fire quickly spread, engulfing five buildings in all, spurred on by things being stored at the plant such as hay, paper and fuel. One man told firefighters that there was a total of 500 gallons of fuel on the property.
The fire caused mini explosions as it spread. Carolyn Thomas who works next door to the recycling plant described what she heard as, "...big booms. It almost sounds like ammunition."
Terry Osborn, who works near the site of the fire, said, "It must have been 150, 200 feet in the air! Just like something exploded, but it didn't explode."
Firefighters were able to contain the flames after about an hour. Getting water to the scene was just one challenge they faced. Ogden Fire Marshal Matthew Schwenk said, "You don't have a lot of access around. You don't have a lot of water supply. As you can see, we've blocked the street across so we can catch fire hydrants to run the lines."
KSL found accessing water is a problem other Utah junkyards have dealt with as well. John Janson, a West Valley City planner, said, "[It's] very difficult to put out the fires unless you have a regular water system." A few years ago, West Valley City was tired of having no water access when they had fires at their junkyard, so it added fire hydrants to the area. "They really didn't have the proper fire protection. But they do now," Janson said.
The smoke drew onlookers to the scene, many of whom had ties to the business. "As a matter of fact, I was talking about going to work here in September. I hate to see this because I was counting on that," said David Muller.
The good news is no firefighters were injured, and all workers at the plant are accounted for. An employee was reported missing but was found a short time later.
Roper says he has no idea at the dollar cost of the damage. He says, "The buildings aren't a concern. People's safety is a concern. I'm not concerned about the buildings. The metal is still all there, obviously it doesn't burn. Everything else is fine."
As for the dry grass on the business property being a possible fire hazard, Roper says they make an effort to keep it cleared, but it's tough on 17 acres. He adds they recently got some goats and llamas to eat it and help them keep up.
Firefighters estimate the blaze was about an acre large.
Fire officials say they were careful to keep upwind of the smoke. They feel because it was windy, the smoke dissipated enough and there is no threat to public health.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
E-mail: tpapanikolas@ksl.com
