LEHI, Utah — More than 24 hours after a massive fire broke out in Lehi, there were still some smoldering hot spots Monday at what was an under-construction apartment complex.
Lehi City officials say they won’t even be able to begin their investigation into what caused the fire until those hotspots are out — and until after large, fire-damaged cranes are carefully dismantled and taken down.
Dave Stevens had a bird's-eye view of one of Lehi’s biggest fires in recent memory.
But on Monday, Stevens admitted that he and several of his neighbors were more focused on church and initially didn’t even notice the blaze.
But he says that changed quickly.
“Somebody got a text that there was a big fire in the area, so then we all left," he said.
It became a mass exodus from the chapel because many were concerned that the fire was on their street and possibly affecting some of their own homes.
“And the bishop’s reaction was, he didn’t know what to do because church was just about to start," Stevens said. "They did start church, but it was a skeleton crew because a whole bunch of people went and tried to take care of things.”
Diego Alfaro lives on the same street, and at first, he was also preoccupied on Sunday.
“At the beginning, I didn’t even notice," he said. "But my neighbor called me and we looked out the window and we were like, 'Whoa! That’s pretty impressive!'”
But once neighbors realized they were safe, Alfaro and many others still spent hours keeping a watchful eye on the blaze.
“We stayed at home during the morning because we wanted to make sure it didn’t spread and that we were safe," he said. "But yeah, everybody was a little bit shaken with the commotion… We could feel the heat.”
Stevens agreed.
“We had our people, we had our dog, and that’s what was important to us, and that’s what we focused on," he said.
It’s likely going to be a few more days until officials have even a preliminary indication about what caused this massive blaze and what the financial damage could wind up being.
