July fire north of Roy likely caused by passing freight train, probe shows

KEY TAKEAWAYS

A July fire north of Roy that torched 18 acres was likely caused by a passing train.
The probe into the matter didn't delve into the fire along the rail corridor in nearby Roy at the same time that destroyed three homes.
Witnesses say a freight train passed just before smoke was observed in the fire area north of Roy.

ROY — The July fire just outside Roy sparked around the same time as a blaze that destroyed three homes inside the city and was likely caused by a passing freight train, according to the investigation into the incident.

Witnesses reported that a freight train passed just before smoke was observed in the area.

"Based upon the totality of the evidence, it is the opinion of the investigators that the fire originated adjacent to the railroad right-of-way and was accidentally ignited by railroad operations, most likely from sparks or hot metallic fragments during the passage of the freight train," the report, publicly released Wednesday, reads.

The Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands led the investigation into the Hinckley Fire in an unincorporated area of Weber County east of 1900 West and north of Hinckley Drive. The July 20 fire torched 18 acres of undeveloped land.

The investigation doesn't delve into the potential cause of the fire that occurred at the same time to the south along the railroad line inside Roy, which destroyed three homes abutting the corridor and around 30 outbuildings. The Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands focused its efforts only on the "wildland side of the investigation," said Karl Hunt, the office's spokesman.

North Davis Fire District Chief Mark Becraft, however, one of the fire officials involved in initial efforts to fight the blaze, expressed suspicions at the time that sparks from a passing train likely caused the fire along Hinckley Drive and the blaze to the south in Roy. Officials from the Roy Fire Department, the city's lead firefighting agency, didn't immediately respond to queries Thursday seeking comment on the Roy portion of the blaze.

A train likely sparked a July 20 fire north of Roy, according to the probe into the incident, which doesn't delve into the fire in Roy at the same time that torched three homes. The July 21 photo shows one of the burned homes in Roy. (Photo: Tim Vandenack, KSL.com)

Union Pacific runs freight trains along the corridor and the company said in a statement that it is reviewing the report into the blaze.

"Union Pacific is fully cooperating with the state fire officials during their investigation. We take fire prevention seriously and our No.1 priority is the safety of our employees and our railroad communities. Our thoughts remain with everyone impacted by the fire," the statement reads.

Utah Transit Authority FrontRunner trains also use the corridor. But in the immediate aftermath of the blaze, the agency said it examined the train initially identified as potentially involved and found no abnormalities or mechanical issues.

Three 'ignition areas'

In looking into the blaze north of Roy, the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands report said investigators identified three "ignition areas" adjacent to the railroad tracks.

"All exhibited burn indicators consistent with separate ignitions that originated adjacent to the railroad ballast and then spread into surrounding vegetation," the report reads. It goes on, saying no evidence "of human activity, utility failures or other accidental ignition sources was identified. The fire ignited simultaneously with the passage of a freight train."

A separate Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands investigation into a July 27 blaze along a Union Pacific railroad line south of Washington Terrace found that it originated along the rail corridor. Maintenance crews had recently used brush-cutting equipment in the area.

Ted Burrell, who lives in a home damaged in the Washington Terrace fire, sustained injuries in the July 27 blaze and later died. Washington Terrace is in Weber County, as is Roy.

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.