Summit County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported bomb threat at the Westgate Park City hotel Sunday evening. While local law enforcement and its partners searched the premises, hotel staff implemented a shelter-in-place protocol and evacuated some areas as a precaution.
No devices were found and the incident was ruled a hoax.
Summit County Sheriff’s spokesperson Skyler Talbot said a Westgate employee called 911 to report the hotel had received the threat in a phone call.
“The employee did indicate to our dispatchers that the phone call they received was in some sense automated,” Talbot said. “[It] didn't give specifics as far as location, what type of bomb, anything like that. All the information was very general.”
Talbot said another law enforcement agency mentioned there have been several similar incidents across the state in recent years, where a robotic voice gives vague details of a bomb in an area, but ultimately turns out to be nothing.
“When they're a hoax, it generates the same exact responses as any other bomb threat,” he said. “It is frustrating. It puts a strain on our resources.”
According to the U.S. Bomb Data Center’s 2024 Explosives Incident Report, bomb threats have largely been increasing since 2020, with a slight dip from 2023 to 2024. There were over 800 bomb threat incidents reported through the national Bomb Arson Tracking System and collected through open sources in 2020, compared to over 3,100 in 2024.
There were almost 300 hoax device incidents in 2020 and over 350 in 2024.
According to Summit County dispatch records, which includes 911 calls from Park City, there have been seven bomb threats in the county since 2021. One was in early January at KITA Japanese steakhouse.
Talbot said the incident seems to be unrelated to the robotic voice bomb threat hoaxes.
Anyone who makes false bomb threats could face felony charges under Utah law.
