Millcreek apartment complex fire started on land owned by Salt Lake City, notices for overgrown weeds issued before fire

MILLCREEK, Utah (ABC4) — Officials confirmed that the fire that burned the Willow Glen apartment complex in Millcreek started on Salt Lake City-owned property, and that the city of Millcreek provided a courtesy notice about weeds on the property just days before the fire.

The fire spread to the apartment complex after being sparked by a rock hitting the blades of a lawnmower in an adjacent field, and Unified Fire officials confirmed at the Millcreek city council meeting on July 28 that 41 people total were permanently displaced by the fire.

Fire officials also discussed a timeline for the fire at that city council meeting. Crews were dispatched at 1:40 p.m. and arrived five minutes later. Evacuations were ordered at 1:52 p.m., and three minutes later, the fire was reported to have reached an apartment building. By 2:18 p.m., the first roof had collapsed, and the second followed shortly after.

It began as a grass fire in a field near the apartment complex, and Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities (SLCDPU) Director Laura Briefer confirmed that the city owns and operates that land.

“This property, we’ve owned since 1931, before there was really any development. We’ve always maintained it as a natural space. It contains several drinking water wells, and so we maintain it as a natural space for source water protection, to protect those wells from contamination,” Briefer told ABC4.com. “But clearly, with the development that’s come up around these properties, we need to take a look at, you know, the proximity of structures to vegetation.”

In a press release, Salt Lake City Mayor Mendenhall expressed her gratitude that there were no serious injuries associated with the fire and her sympathies for those who have lost their homes, and Briefer echoed those sentiments.

Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini said, “Salt Lake City Public Utilities owns a number of parcels that are all connected or contiguous in this area. And we’ve had a number of complaints previously about this property closer to 900 East, and this fire was closer to 1300 East.”

Millcreek also shared documents related to several code cases and courtesy notices issued for that property, two cases and courtesy notices being issued on July 22, just three days before the fire sparked.

One code case is from 2022, after a resident complained about overgrown trees posing a danger to drivers. A Millcreek city employee performed an inspection of the property, finding vegetation that needed to be cut back, as well as some weeds. That employee then sent an email to Salt Lake City, and within two weeks, Salt Lake City had cut down the weeds and vegetation.

The other cases came about in a similar way, after a resident sent in a complaint. That resident wrote, “The weeds and grass are extremely overgrown and each year this field gets mowed and cleared a couple of times in the summer. That has not happened this year and the field presents a danger to our buildings due to fire potential. Who addresses this?”

The same Millcreek city employee as in 2022 went to inspect the property, finding that there were overgrown weeds, violating city ordinances about weed control standards. Those standards state that weeds cannot be more than six inches tall at any time.

Two courtesy notices about the weed issues were sent to Salt Lake City, telling them that the weeds needed to be cut down and clippings removed. The notice stated that an inspector would come back to inspect the property on August 6.

SLCDPU told ABC4.com that they received those notices on July 23. Salt Lake City was in the process of doing the work to bring the property back into compliance with Millcreek city ordinances when the fire sparked.

“We are extremely sorry about this occurring, and our hearts go out to all of the residents who have been disrupted,” Briefer told ABC4.com. “I know that it is a huge disruption, and we’re taking it very, very, very seriously.”

Both cities are working with fire officials in their investigation to understand the circumstances that led to the fire, and Briefer said that SLCDPU is cooperating fully with the investigation.

The cities are also working with various nonprofits to help those displaced. One local animal rescue, Whiskers, is working to find pets lost in the fire.

The city of Millcreek is accepting donations for affected families here. According to city officials at the July 28 city council meeting, the latest total of donations is $41,000.

At the meeting, the city council approved a motion to adjust their budget to add an extra $11,000 from the city budget to help the victims of the Willow Glen apartments. That money is coming out of the city communication department budget, which is a department that already found savings.

On Tuesday, residents displaced by the fire will be receiving checks from the city. Each of the 22 households will receive roughly $2,300, and one household told the city to give their cut to the others.