Massive Cranes Present Their Own Challenges After Millcreek Fire
Jun 18, 2021, 12:34 PM
MILLCREEK, Utah — One day after a massive fire at an under-construction apartment complex that damaged a neighboring strip mall, construction crews were back at the scene — this time to dismantle two overhead cranes.
Unified Fire Authority spokesman Ryan Love said the cranes were weakened by the fire and are considered a total loss, and it was not safe for anyone to enter the property until the cranes were down.
“They’re actually cutting this crane apart with a torch, so that way they can remove the cranes from the scene,” Love said Thursday afternoon.
UPDATE: Gunn Ave/Villa Vista is also closed between 1300 E and Highland Dr. Please avoid the area and find an alternate route.
— Millcreek Utah (@MillcreekUT) June 18, 2021
Love said it was likely to take well into Friday at the very least to disassemble the cranes and haul the individual sections away.
Firefighters were awaiting access to the property to investigate the cause of the fire, which appeared to do millions of dollars in damage to the complex and neighboring businesses. Those businesses also remained closed and inaccessible to owners and workers Thursday.
Massive Millcreek Construction Site Fire Causes Millions In Damages
Christine Golesh, who lives near the strip mall, said the vinyl siding on the west side of her home was melted.
“It’s kind of scary,” she acknowledged. “I’m wondering what else is going to happen.”
Everyone expressed concern for the businesses and their workers, who faced an uncertain future.
“The pharmacist came over and talked to me today and he said his roof is gone. So I don’t know how they recover from that,” Golesh said.
Brandon Hampshire said he grew up in the area and knew people at the strip mall and said the ordeal was “very sad.”
“It hurts the community,” Hampshire said. “A lot of these people have been here for years.”
The Unified Fire Authority was seeking pictures and videos of Wednesday’s 3-alarm fire in order to review fire behavior as part of their investigation. Anybody with those images was asked to send them to pio@unifiedfire.org.
