According to a report from the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands obtained by the Standard-Examiner, the July 27 fire has been attributed to brush removal operations along the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way.

“Based upon physical evidence, witness information, scene examination, and elimination of other competent ignition sources, the fire was determined to have been accidentally caused by sparks generated during railroad maintenance operations utilizing a brush hog-type cutting attachment,” the report said.

The report adds that the fire spread rapidly as a result of dry fuels and weather conditions, racing up the hillside and threatening several homes to the north of the initial ignition source.

“Witnesses reported observing railroad maintenance personnel operating a brush-hog-type vegetation-cutting machine for right-of-way maintenance shortly before smoke was first observed,” the report said. “No witnesses reported fireworks, campfires, smoking materials or other ignition sources. There were power lines in the area that were not energized.”

The Standard-Examiner reported at the time that Cecil “Ted” Burrell, 87, Washington Terrace, was killed in the fire.

“During the initial response deputies and officers were going door-to-door evacuating residents when they learned of one resident that was unaccounted for,” a Weber County Sheriff’s Office press release at the time read. “Deputies checked the subject’s home where they found thick smoke and ash around the home and a trailer on fire. Deputies and officers from other agencies located the male with severe burns. Deputies and other officers acted quickly and carried the male out of the home and away from the fire and transported the male to a nearby emergency room for medical care. Later that day, the male died from his injuries. The victim has been identified as 87-year-old Cecil (Ted) Burrell of Washington Terrace.”

A Weber County Sheriff’s deputy was also injured during the fire while performing life-saving duties according to the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands report.

The report also includes an interview with a uNion Pacific employee who was on site that, upon noticing the fire, attempted to extinguish it when it was reportedly around 6-8 feet in diameter, however, the extinguisher was depleted before he could fully control the growing blaze. At this point, he contacted 911 for further assistance.

Around 72 acres were burned in the fire.