- Fireworks caused a blaze in Ogden, severely damaging a home and burning 3-5 acres.
- The fire led to temporary evacuations of several homes.
- One of the residents of the home most damaged reported seeing "walls of flames" on waking to the scent of the nearby fire.
OGDEN — One home sustained severe damage in a blaze caused by fireworks in a part of Ogden where fireworks had been prohibited because of the heightened fire risk.
Fire officials, meantime, are investigating the blaze from early Sunday and "trying to figure out who did it," said Michael Slater, public information officer for the Ogden Fire Department. The blaze prompted the temporary evacuation of seven to eight homes as a precaution.
The home most severely damaged sustained $100,000 to $150,000 in damage, Slater estimates, while two other sheds behind nearby homes and the contents inside were also destroyed. The backyards of three homes sustained patio damage.
Jasmin Santamaria, who lived at the house that suffered the extensive damage, said she's not yet sure if the home can be rebuilt given the amount of destruction it sustained. Meantime, she, her sister and her mom, who had lived at the home for eight months, have found a temporary place to live and are seeking more permanent arrangements.
"We woke up because we smelled something," said Santamaria, who has launched a GoFundMe* drive to help raise funds to aid the family in rebuilding. "We looked outside and we saw the walls of flames."
The call for the fire, in an open area on a mountainside above 9th Street and Maxwell Avenue in Ogden, came in around 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Neighbors in the area had reported hearing fireworks, according to Slater. Santamaria said she heard fireworks, but they seemed to be far from her home. On seeing the approaching fire, she, her mom, her sister and their pets quickly fled.
Fireworks over the Independence Day holiday weekend were allowed in Ogden only until 11 p.m. on Saturday, per state law. But fireworks were completely prohibited in the area of Sunday's blaze on Ogden's east bench, where homes abut undeveloped land on the side of the mountain, like the Santamaria house.
The fire torched 3 to 5 acres of land, Slater estimates, and required the help of more than 50 firefighters from 22 firefighting units. The fire in the Santamaria home started on the roof of the structure and extended to its attic area.
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