Fire above Ogden largely contained as crews work to determine cause

A wildfire broke out late Saturday above Ogden, but by Sunday afternoon, crews were mostly devoting their efforts to assessing the blaze’s cause, while also putting out a few remaining hot spots.

Utah Fire Info tweeted Sunday afternoon that the blaze was 15% contained and covered about 35 acres. A few hours later, though, Chief Shelby Willis of the Ogden Fire Department told The Salt Lake Tribune that the fire was “absolutely” under control, and that crews from her department and the state were primarily trying to determine how the flames started.

Willis did not have an update on whether that had been ascertained yet.

“We have a couple units that are still out there putting out hot spots,” Willis added. “We had a number of issues because of all the downed power lines. The lines were live, so Rocky Mountain Power has been out there trying to secure the scene so that the investigators can go in and look for cause of origin.”

Overnight, Utah Fire Info had tweeted that 72 structures were threatened by the so-called 9th Street Fire and that a power substation had been damaged.

“Crews have been working to construct fire line and mop up along the perimeter,” the tweet said. “Efforts are focused near the homes.”

Utah Fire Info also reported early Sunday that crews had established an “anchor point,” though initial efforts to contain the blaze were hampered by strong winds, which were in play until about noon.

No evacuations took place.

Meanwhile, a blaze on the Great Salt Lake’s Stansbury Island swelled to 4,000 acres. Utah Fire Info reported that the Tabby Canyon Fire, which was about 20% contained Sunday night, had been sparked by an “exploding target.”

— Tribune news editor David Noyce contributed to this story.