Previous Disaster Events in Salt Lake County
There have been multiple events throughout the history of Salt Lake County. This is by no means an exhaustive list, however it will give an idea of what Salt Lake County has experienced historically.
1982-1983—Flooding throughout the State of Utah
1988—Emigration Wildland Urban Interface Fire
1999—KSL/Triad Center Shooting
1999—LDS Church History Library Shooting
1999—Tornado in Salt Lake City
2007—Trolley Square Shooting
2009—Corner Canyon Mudslides
2010—Cottonwood Heights Flooding
2010—Machine Gun Fire in Herriman
2011—Windstorms
2011—Cottonwood Heights Flooding
2012—Rosecrest Fire
2013—Windstorms
2013—Herriman Flooding
2015—Windstorms
2015—Severe Weather and Flooding
2016—Utah Lake and Jordan River Algal Bloom
1982-1983 Floods
​
After record-breaking water years of 1981 and 1982, there were massive mudslides in Big and Little Cottonwood canyons which damaged more than 300 homes throughout Salt Lake County. The county and the state declared a state of emergency (the federal government declined this declaration). In May 1983, massive snow melt caused flooding throughout Utah. In Salt Lake County, City Creek breached it's banks, rushing down South Temple and Thirteenth South. State Street in Salt Lake City was formed into a river to avoid massive damage to the Salt Lake City business district. At the end of June 1983, the majority of the disaster had ended and the recovery began.
All Photos Courtesy of KSL.com
1988 Emigration Canyon Wildfire
​
On September 2, 1988, an illegal campfire started a wildfire that burned more than 5,700 acres up Emigration Canyon and required more than 300 wildland firefighters to contain. The fire lasted several days and all residents of Pinecrest and Killyon canyons (both portions of Emigration Canyon) were forced to evacuate.
All Photos Courtesy of KSL.com
1999 KSL-Triad Center Shooting
​
On January 14, 1999, a 24-year-old female entered the KSL building located at the Triad Center and started shooting, wounding one and killing one before being wrestled to the ground by an employee.
1999 LDS Church History Shooting
​
On April 15, 1999, a 70-year-old man shot and killed two people and wounded five others in the LDS Church Family History Library in Salt Lake City before he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with Salt Lake City Police.
1999 Tornado-Salt Lake City
​
On August 11 1999, Salt Lake City experienced a tornado that was rated an F2 on the Fujita scale. It is the sixth recorded tornado that Utah has experienced and caused one fatality and more than 100 reported injuries. It also damaged more than 120 homes in the avenues and roughly $170 million in damages.
Path of the tornado. Courtesy of NOAA
Video Courtesy of YouTube
2007 Trolley Square Shooting
​
On Feb 12, 2007, an 18-year-old male opened fire in Trolley Square, killing five and wounding four before being killed by an off-duty Ogden City police officer and responding police officers from Salt Lake City Police Department.
All Photos Courtesy of KSL.com
2008 Corner Canyon Fire
​
The 2008 Corner Canyon Fire occurred in Draper in August of 2008, causing the evacuation of more than 60 homes and consuming more than 600 acres. In all, the following neighborhoods and subdivisions were affected: Bear Ridge Cove; Bear Mountain Drive; Bear Mountain Circle; Grizzly Hollow Cove; Kodiak Court; Draper Farm Cove; Bear Hills Drive; Bear Hills Court; and Bear Hills Circle. It took more than three days of fighting the fire before it was considered contained.
All Photos Courtesy of KSL.com
2009 Corner Canyon Mudslides–Draper
​
The devastation from the 2008 Corner Canyon Fire continued into 2009 following weeks of rain. A mudslide tore down the same hillside pushing mud and debris into multiple houses. Work went on for several days to mitigate any further damage.
All Photos Courtesy of KSL.com
Cottonwood Heights Flooding–2010, 2011, 2012​
​
2010
In June 2010, there had been a cooler than normal spring which delayed snowmelt until late May and early June. Around June 7 & 8, there were heavy rainstorms in addition to suddenly warming temperatures. All of this combined led to multiple areas of flooding throughout Salt Lake County, primarily in Murray and Cottonwood Heights with swollen rivers and creeks breaching banks. Everything culminated beginning June 9 and lasting several days with the flooding. The total cost of response to this event was around $500,000
2011
2011 brought more of the same with the spring runoff quickly rising during the timeframe of 1.5 days. The flooding occurred throughout Cottonwood Heights, Murray and Sandy, although there were minimal effects thanks to several weeks of preplanning and prestaging of sandbags and other required items.
All Photos Courtesy of KSL.com
2010 Machine Gun Fire
​
On September 19, 2010, live-fire training occurred at Camp Williams under a red-flag warning. A fire swept across Camp Williams into Herriman City limits, causing 1,600 homes to be evacuated, 4,251 acres to be burned overall and the complete loss of three homes. The fire lasted until September 24th. A Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) was given to Salt Lake County following the fire.
All Photos Courtesy of KSL.com
2011 Windstorms–Salt Lake, Davis & Weber Counties
​
From Dec 1-3 2011 there were multiple windstorms that swept through Northern Utah with massive damage occurring in Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties. The windstorms were hurricane-force winds, with speeds exceeding 100 miles an hour and causing widespread damage and power outages to more than 50,000 residents in addition to causing major problems with responders' 800 MHz radios. Total damage came in at over $20 Million and was a Presidentially Declared Disaster.
All Photos Courtesy of Deseret News
2012 Rosecrest Fire–Herriman​
​
On June 29, 2012, a car parked on some tall, dry grass in the Herriman City area sparked a wildfire that grew to more than 700 acres and forced more than 950 residents from their homes. Ultimately, a Type III Incident Management Team was established and in the end only six homes were destroyed by the fire, although there was an unknown number of outbuildings damaged or destroyed. Fire operations lasted several days and there were no human casualties.
2012 Pinyon Fire
​
In August of 2012, a wildfire consumed more than 3,000 acres on Camp Williams property, burning several training buildings. More than 100 homes had to be evacuated as a precaution and there was a fear of a repeat of the Machine Gun Fire. The wildland fire was especially tricky to fight due to the multiple ranges of nearby unexploded ordnance.
2013 Windstorms
​
On November 21st and 22nd 2013, there were multiple windstorms that blew through Davis, Weber and Salt Lake counties, causing the ECC to stand up for that period of time. Luckily, the damages were nowhere near those of 2011, although there were reports of power outages to more than 8,000 residents throughout Davis and Salt Lake counties and multiple trees and signs falling down due to the wind. The majority of the damage occurred in Ogden and Farmington.
All Photos Courtesy of Standard Examiner
2013 Herriman Flooding
​
On September 14 and 15, 2013, heavy rain triggered flooding and mudslides in Herriman, South Jordan and West Jordan with the bulk of the damage being near Herriman High School. Flooding at an apartment complex near 6000 West and 11600 South, displaced the residents of more than 18 units. Herriman High School also had some flood damage resulting in the replacement of carpeting throughout the school. Eleven homes were flooded across the road from Herriman High School in a South Jordan subdivision and 10 apartments sustained damage in a West Jordan apartment complex.
2014 Draper Fire
​
The 2014 Draper Fire occurred in June of 2014 near 12600 South and Highland Drive. This fire burned roughly eight acres and forced several residents out of their homes. There were multiple flare-ups until the fire was fully contained. All told, there were a dozen homes evacuated, although none were damaged.
2015 Windstorm/Snowstorm
​
From April 14-15, 2015, Salt Lake County and Northern Utah had a spring storm which began with wind gusts of up to 70 MPH throughout the valley. This lasted for the majority of the day of the 14th and caused power outages to more than 8,000 residents of the Salt Lake Metro area. Multiple vehicle accidents occurred, causing more than 80 severe injuries and killing one on I-80. Beyond this, there was a severe snowstorm that blew into the valley, dropping several inches of snow and causing havoc throughout the area. There were also several brush fires throughout the Salt Lake County with the largest being a three-alarm brush fire in the Avenues in Salt Lake City.
All Photos Courtesy of Fox 13 News and sltrib.com
2015 Severe Weather/Flooding
​
On 6.6.15 there was severe weather and flooding in the South end of the valley, primarily in South Jordan, Riverton and Herriman. There were also 2 recorded tornados that touched down in Southern Utah.
Video courtesy of Fox13.com and pictures courtesy of sltrib.com
2015 Parley's Canyon Fire
​
On 8.18.15, there was a Type 3 fire that occurred at the PMAA Gun Range up Parley's Canyon. It lasted for 3 days before there was 100% containment and mop-up.
Photos courtesy of UFA
2016 Bluffdale Flooding
​
There was flooding that occurred on 4.11.16 in Bluffdale City.
2016 Algal Bloom
​
On 7.19-20.2016 the SLCo Emergency Coordination Center for the Algal Bloom affecting Utah Lake and the Jordan River. We continued to monitor, along with the State DEQ and Salt Lake County Health Department for the remainder of July but there were no long-term problems associated with the Algal Blooms, although there were several different blooms.
Photos courtesy of sltrib.com
2016 Corner Canyon Fire
​
On 8.3-4.2016 there was a fast moving fire that occurred in Corner Canyon in Draper. 40 homes were evacuated and the total acreage burned was 37 acres. No homes were lost and no injuries were reported. It was a Type 3 fire and was completely under control on 8.4.16.
2016 HazMat Incident on I-15
​
On 10.5.2016 a semi-tanker carrying Ammonium Nitrate was involved in a motor-vehicle accident, causing the pup-trailer to overturn. While mitigating efforts were put into place and ensuring the safety for the public and responders, I-15 was shut down in both directions for 7 hours, with NB I-15 being shut down for a total of 9 hours, causing one of the largest traffic delays and issues within the Salt Lake County within the last 16 years. The Salt Lake County Emergency Coordination Center was stood up to a Level 2, staffing ESF's 4 (Firefighting), 5 (Emergency Management) and 10 (HazMat) for the duration of the incident.
2017 Multiple Conflagration & Gas-Leak
​
On 6/8/17, at approximately 1620 hours multiple fires (4) were reported in Herriman and South Jordan. In light of the multiple incidents and the nature of the weather the SLCo Emergency Coordination Center heightened its activation status. All fires were contained fairly early. One home in South Jordan was evacuated. Bacchus Highway westbound was closed for a short period of time. In conjunction with these fires there is also a natural gas leak in Millcreek City.
2018 Hazmat Tanker Fire on I-15​
​
On 1.18.18, there was a large diesel/fuel tanker fire that shut I-15 down for over 3 hours, both North and Southbound lanes. The fire appeared to have started from overheated brakes that spread to the trailer and pup-trailer that were full of diesel and unleaded fuel, igniting a large fire and subsequent explosion.