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Wasatch County
Heber, Midway and Wasatch County

Two Timber Lakes Homes Explode Into Flames In One Month's Time

Wasatch County Fire

As we’ve reported Sunday afternoon a home in the Timber Lakes subdivision blew up in a fiery explosion. This was the second house in a months’ time to explode into flames in the Timber Lakes division.

Wasatch County Fire District Public Spokeswoman Janet Carson says there’s no connection between the two explosions other than they are both homes Timber Lakes area, and that propane very well could have contributed in both cases.

“They all are on propane and there’s been lots of snow this year so it's probably a good thing that they make sure their propane tanks are cleared away and they might even want to have their lines inspected you know where they connect into the house they could have all those inspected to make sure there's no leaks. Those are things they could do to be proactive but there is no relation between the two except the fact that they're both homes on propane in the Timber Lakes area.”

Sunday’s explosion occurred in the early afternoon on Cottonwood lane, responders were able to arrive to the scene quickly and put out the flames.

All homes in the Timber Lakes division are hooked up to propane. Carson explains how this winter could potentially be impacting these homes.

“If there’s ice or debris that falls of the house and hit the propane line those are things that could maybe break them or make sure the connections are clear to the house. You just want to make sure everything is cleared away and there's not a chance of something getting ruptured or broken or something like that, but the tanks themselves are pretty secure it takes a lot to damage a propane tank.”

Carson says the state fire marshal has been investigating Sunday’s explosion and says that the propane tanks were intact. Investigators have also been interviewing the homeowners trying to determine the cause of the explosion. Sunday’s blast was so powerful it did damage to some neighbors’ homes.

“It appeared that the blast blew everything in the house out the roof came down there's debris scattered for 200 feet or so quite a ways away from the house in fact there is insulation on the neighbors roof insulation was up in the trees so it was a significant blast there was some splintered wood that actually penetrated the roof of one of the neighboring cabins it was close by. He actually said that one of his coffee pots or tea pots fell off the stove and broke and some things were knocked off the wall and then the neighbors to the East said that they have the double pane windows and the outside painless broke on several of the windows. It was quite a quite a significant blast.”

Another home burst into flames in mid-February on Lake Pines Drive. A woman went in to investigate a gas odor inside the home when the house erupted, two nearby neighbors heroically rushed into the home and saved the woman who was trapped under a beam.

“The Timber Lakes subdivision is eight miles off the Valley floor, so it takes us a little while to get there and then with all the snow we've had this year access into some of these cabins is not easy. It's really expensive for them to have their driveways all shoveled out so sometimes it's hard to get into these places and to know that we do the very best we can and Timber Lake’s public works are excellent at keeping the road’s plowed and they do their best to keep the hydrants clear for us so that they are accessible and we can get to them. and we don't have to dig them out first but sometimes there's a big storm and they're working their hardest and as a neighbor they might want to go dig their own hydrants out to make sure that their area is safe.”

The Timber Lakes area has a mix of residents who live in the subdivision full time and part time, Carson advises members of the community to be good neighbors and to call county officials if they suspect their home or a neighbor’s home might be in danger.

KPCW reporter David Boyle covers all things in the Heber Valley as well as sports and breaking news.
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