This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A fire of unknown cause destroyed a rural Box Elder County home early Wednesday morning.
Fire crews responded at 5 a.m. Wednesday to the home, at 895 East Promontory Road, about 20 miles southwest of Tremonton, but it was a total loss, according to Box Elder County Fire Marshal Corey Barton.
Due to the long response time to get to the remote area, the home was engulfed in flames upon the crews' arrival, Barton said. And because there was no water system in the area, fire crews went "defensive" and used their limited resources to keep the fire from spreading to surrounding buildings.
The home was unoccupied at the time because the occupant was in a hospital in Salt Lake City.
There were no injuries to fire personnel. Damage was estimated at $175,000.
Barton said there were several "tense moments" for firefighters due to numerous explosions caused by flammable liquid containers and "lots of ammunition" stored in the home.
Fire crews from Thatcher Penrose Fire, Corrine Fire and Tremonton Fire responded with a total of 20 personnel and spent six hours fighting the fire.
Because of extensive damage to the site, Barton said the official cause of the fire will be listed as undetermined.