Deadly Washington Terrace fire sparked by brush-cutting along rail corridor, probe finds

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Authorities say a July fire in Washington Terrace that left a man dead was sparked along a railroad corridor following brush-cutting operations.
The blaze, largely in an undeveloped expanse abutting the Weber County city, torched around 72 acres.
Ted Burrell, who lives in a home damaged in the fire, sustained injuries in the blaze and later died.

WASHINGTON TERRACE, Weber County — A fire in July that prompted the evacuation of a Washington Terrace neighborhood and led to the death of a man was sparked along a nearby railroad corridor by brush-cutting operations.

The Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands on Tuesday released the investigation into the July 27 blaze, which burned north of a Union Pacific railroad line that cuts through the area. The agency deemed the blaze, dubbed the Adams fire, accidental.

"The fire spread rapidly due to dry fuels and weather conditions, ultimately damaging several residential structures and resulting in one civilian fatality," the report reads. The probe "determined the fire originated along the railroad right-of-way where maintenance activities involving brush-cutting equipment had recently occurred."

Ted Burrell, 87, who lived in a home damaged in the fire, sustained injuries in the blaze and later died. He had left his home due to the evacuation order but returned and got locked out on the back deck of the residence. Firefighters located him and pulled him out after he had sustained severe burns.

A fire a week earlier along a railroad corridor in Roy, also in Weber County, destroyed three homes and around 30 outbuildings. Officials haven't yet released the report on that blaze.

Tuesday's report into the Washington Terrace fire tapped physical evidence, witness reports and examination of the scene. It also cited the weather conditions when the fire occurred: a temperature of around 91 degrees and 27% relative humidity.

"The combination of high temperatures, low humidity and sustained southeast winds significantly contributed to the rapid spread of fire after ignition," the report says.

The photo shows the perimeter, in orange, of the deadly July 27 fire in Washington Terrace in Weber County. The two red dots represent where the fire started. (Photo: Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands)

The fire torched 72 acres in all, much of it an undeveloped expanse on a sloping area south of a Washington Terrace neighborhood that overlooks I-84 and the Weber River down below. The report ruled out natural causes, electrical failures, smoking materials, "incendiary activity" and utility malfunctions as potential sparks.

"Witnesses reported observing railroad maintenance personnel operating a brush-hog-type vegetation-cutting machine for right-of-way maintenance shortly before smoke was first observed. No witnesses reported fireworks, campfires, smoking materials or other ignition sources. There were power lines in the area that were not energized," the report reads.

An unspecified number of homes, fencing, landscaping, outbuildings and utility infrastructure were damaged in the fire. A law enforcement official also sustained burns.

Union Pacific said in a statement that company officials are reviewing the report. "Union Pacific has fully cooperated with the state fire officials during their investigation. We extend our deepest sympathies to those impacted by the fire," the company said.

A Union Pacific employee on the scene when the fire occurred also offered testimony in the report. Workers attempted unsuccessfully to douse the blaze after it started.

"By the time I reached the fire, it had already grown to approximately 6-8 feet in diameter. I began extinguishing the fire and made it about halfway around the perimeter before my extinguisher was depleted," the employee said in a written report he completed as part of the investigation. He then called 911 for assistance from emergency responders.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.