Two Homes, Several Vehicles Burn In West Valley City Fire

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Flames ripped through two houses and burned up several vehicles Wednesday afternoon, leaving the owners to question their next steps.

The fire broke out after 5 p.m. near 1500 Russett Avenue and drew a large response from firefighters.

Shanna Burridge said her dog was acting up, and as she went outside to see what was happening. Outside, she could see the trailer between their houses was on fire, and her neighbor told her to call 911.

“I ran across the street and watched it all go down,” Burridge said. “Now, it’s all gone.”

West Valley City Fire Battalion Chief Jed Peters said at least three trailers and four cars had burned in the fire, but he said it was possible there were additional vehicles inside the trailers that had not been taken into account.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation late Wednesday, but Peters said firefighters were looking into reports from neighbors that there may have been some initial fire involving weeds or trash.

“It would be difficult to have a safe area to burn in, and we’d discourage that with anybody,” Peters said.

Burridge said the house she lived in belonged to her uncle, and she didn’t know where she’d live now that it had burned.

“I know it’s sad, and I don’t know where I’m going,” Burridge said. “I don’t know what to do at this point.”

Firefighters said they were still tallying damages, but both houses were likely total losses.

Sunnie Serrano, who lives across the street from where the fire happened, said the fire was scary and something she didn’t want to experience again.

“I think it would be sad and scary to think about what would happen to us if that ever happened to us,” Serrano said. “I just feel bad that that happened to some other person and we can’t help out.”