West Salt Lake City Fire Summary
A worker cutting pallets at Rio’s Auto Recycling in West Salt Lake City accidentally ignited pallets and caused a huge industrial and grass fire which spread to nearby Salt Lake City International Airport on Friday afternoon (7/8). The five-alarm fire started at Rio’s and quickly spread into nearby grass and brush and north towards Interstate 80, pushing smoke across the highway. Dozens of explosions were heard as the West Salt Lake Fire impacted a power substation and briefly knocked out power. The fire reportedly involved two mechanic shops, and multiple videos posted online showed cars and barrels spewing black smoke in the industrial area. Over 100 firefighters from several agencies were on scene dealing with both a potential hazmat situation from unknown contents near the industrial blaze and a rapidly spreading grass fire being pushed by gusty northerly winds. Local traffic in the area was reportedly stopped for over two hours because of the blaze. The standstill may have to do with the Salt Lake City Fire Department clearing the area due to potential hazardous materials in the smoke and flames. The fire continues to burn as of Friday afternoon and is currently being reported at over 30-acres.
Map
West Salt Lake Fire Location
Areas Impacted
Interstate 80 between I-215 and 5600 West
Rio’s Auto Recycling Panorama of the Scene today
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