That said, officials aren’t sure if it was intentional or unintentional and continue to investigate, said Deputy Fire Chief Mike Slater of the Ogden Fire Department. “We know it wasn’t a natural cause,” he said.

He didn’t provide many more details given the ongoing investigation, except to say that the fire is out. Officials are inspecting some of the debris near the suspected origin of the fire as part of their continuing investigation.

The Valley Fire started on Sept. 6, blackening the mountainside off the eastern side of Valley Drive in eastern Ogden, south of the Rainbow Trail trailhead and near the East Bench. Numerous homes had to be temporarily vacated, though the fire didn’t burn any structures down.

Meantime, the probe also continues into the Aug. 20 blaze that destroyed a 28-unit apartment building that was taking shape in the 3400 block of Washington Boulevard, Slater said.

Photo supplied, Dennis Montgomery

The dramatic blaze may have been caused by an “open flame,” which would imply human involvement, Slater said. But investigators also haven’t ruled out the possibility of a “mechanical cause” for the fire, he went on.

“They know it wasn’t weather related,” he said.

Elite Craft Homes was developing the apartment building. Last year, a fire destroyed another Elite Craft Homes apartment complex taking shape in the 300 block of 28th Street.