KSL NEWS NOW: Homes Destroyed in Roy

[00:01:07]reports. It looks like it did start outside or towards the back of the house.

[00:01:11]>> This morning on KSL News Now, a Magna family's home torched by a fire. Here, what firefighters are saying about the damage and if they can [music] continue living there.

[00:01:22]If one of their brakes get hot, it can throw off sparks and it can just start random random uh fires all along the the railroad track.

[00:01:32]>> Also, firefighters battling several homes that went up in flames in Weber County. A look what might have caused it and why it may have other communities [music] on alert this summer. And communities rallying to support a woman who lost her family to flooding in central Utah.

[00:01:49]Live and [music] streaming. This is KSL News Now >> and good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us for KSL News Now on this Tuesday. I'm Lori Pritchard. We're going to get to all those stories in just a bit. Brian Carlson is here watching your traffic. Matt Johnson, we have some potential problems in Beaver with a flash flood warning.

[00:02:06]>> Yes, and I have seen that there are evacuations in order for those who live within a quarter mile of uh the Beaver River drainage. So, heads up. I am watching very carefully the live webcam of where the Beaver River is coming out of the canyon and uh right now nothing too elevated. There has been a slight uptick in flow rates here as you see this water coming through. Um but yes, a flash flood warning in place for the drainages that contribute to the beaver river and then of course all the way through the canyon and into the Grove area where we saw that flash flood on Sunday. Now, something I will say is that the rain is cleared. Okay, that's good. Also, the amount of rain that fell on the burn scar this morning between a/ inch and 3/4 of an inch is a lot less than what fell on the burn scar on Sunday. So, I do not expect a big response or a big pulse of water coming through the river, but we have to wait and watch and see. This is an evolving situation. Just because there's not a ton of water coming down the river right now doesn't mean it's not still collecting up river. So that's something we're going to be watching for. Uh Cedar City points westward. You got some showers in the area even into St. George where we're hoping and praying for a little bit of rain from this thing.

[00:03:22]Light showers working into Delta.

[00:03:23]Fillmore. You've had some rain this morning. Further north some thunderstorms really crumbling and falling apart over the Ochre Mountains.

[00:03:30]There's been some lightning with it. But again, revisiting this area where we've seen some rain this morning. We are watching that carefully. Clearing skies to the south and east. Uh the forecast still calls for thunderstorms across the state today. We'll walk you through timing and location coming up.

[00:03:47]>> Sounds like a plan. Thank you much, Matt. We're watching a couple things for your morning drive. I'll show you the traffic flow map here first because you've got this spot here, the south end of the valley really starting to add some significant congestion out there coming in from Utah County. This spot right here on I80 in Salt Lake City, which had been our worst spot out there, is now starting to see some improvement.

[00:04:07]So, the road buckling right through here on I 80 headed east. Crews out there working to fix it. They had blocked things down to one lane. Now, one of those lanes is reopened. Traffic is moving smoother through this area. Now, that's not the case for everybody here at the south end of the valley where I showed you first. Right there, this is Draper 119th South headed northbound coming in from the south end of the valley towards downtown. There is a couple of crashes off the side of the freeway, so it's not really causing any slowdowns as far as blocking any lanes, but you will see a lot more congestion building as more cars hit the road out there this morning. So, be aware. This spot, the south end of the valley will slow you down, Lori.

[00:04:45]>> All right, Brian. Thank you. Families in Roy cleaning up this morning after several fires destroyed homes near the railroad tracks. News specialist Mattie Wulmer live this morning from the scene of that fire where neighbors saw what happened. Maddie.

[00:05:01]Neighbors who have lived near these tracks for years say that they never thought that a passing train could start a fire like this until it did. Fire crews say that these hot train breaks sent sparks into dry grass, starting several fires along the railroad tracks. These fires destroyed multiple homes, damaged several other properties, and forced about 200 people to leave the area.

[00:05:28]I just lost a fence. They lost a house.

[00:05:30]They lost something. And it was just it was just hard. It was hard.

[00:05:37]>> Neighbors say firefighters, nearby residents, and even strangers worked together to help families get out to safety and saved what they could.

[00:05:46]Officials say that they're still looking into what exactly caused the train's brakes to get so hot. People in the area are also now getting ready to clean up what is left over. We also heard that there will be a GoFundMe out soon, so we will have more information on that when it becomes available. Back to you, Homer live for us this morning. Maddie, thank you for that update. Also this morning, a house fire in Magna has left four people without a home. This happened last night just after 7:00 near 8900 West, 3100 South. Unified Fire Authorities said that they arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the back of the home. They began to spread inside of the house. Crews were able to get it under control in about 30 minutes. The cause of that fire, it did cause extensive damage. Residents already evacuated before firefighters showed up. Thankfully, officials said at least one pet was still unaccounted for.

[00:06:42]>> Initial reports said there might be someone inside the house. So, we did a quick search inside. Turns out the person they thought was still inside had left the house before.

[00:06:51]>> Unified Fire said that the home is a total loss, but no one was hurt during the response. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Right now, donations pouring in for the 23-year-old woman who lost five family members in Wayne County over the weekend. Katrina and Spencer Long were hiking with their three sons when heavy rains overtook them. The tragedy left behind Lydia Vernon who lives in Kentucky where her father and stepmother are. Community members did not want her to feel forgotten, so they lined the street to welcome her home. They also set up a GoFundMe.

[00:07:26]>> The world just was so generous and just rallied in a way that I never could have imagined.

[00:07:34]>> That fundraiser has raised more than $250,000.

[00:07:38]We've got a link to it on our website, ksl.com.

[00:07:41]And a barber shop in Nephi has donated all of its sales to Lydia Vernon, trying to do their part to support her as well.

[00:07:49]>> I hope she feels love um that she has support system behind her that she's not going to be forgotten throughout all of this even when you know it all kind of calms down.

[00:07:57]>> Those at Branded Barbers all worked for free collecting both her wages and the sales for the day. They say the money will be privately donated to Lydia later this week. Turning now to those devastating floods in central Utah. Take a look. This is exclusive video from Chopper 5 showing the extensive damage from flooding in Beaver County. A large amount of rain over the weekend proved to be too much for many parts of central and southern Utah. Fastmoving water from those floods caused hundreds to evacuate from their homes. As of this morning, some of those people have been able to go home. KSL spoke with one family who lives along the Beaver River and has for years their house surrounded by mud.

[00:08:38]Some water got into their basement when the floods happened on Sunday, but otherwise they were one of the luckier ones in terms of damage. Other homes in Beaver fared much worse.

[00:08:48]>> I have a lot of faith and we prayed a lot and we just thought we've done everything we could do to prepare. I don't know what else you could do to and so we were just thankful that no one was injured. just really grateful that this cannot be fixed.

[00:09:12]>> Anything could be fixed. People's lives know.

[00:09:17]>> On Monday, residents were seen working alongside their neighbors, cleaning up after flooding that left a mess in their communities. And quite a few people turning out at the governor's mansion to protest the massive reduction of the Grand Staircase, Escalan, and Bears's Ears National Monuments. President Trump signing that order last week with Utah's entire delegation, including the governor, in attendance. Protests were held around the state, including outside of Bear's Ears. Protesters fear stripping the National Monument status away from about 90% of what they were, will leave them unprotected from people like looters as well as oil and mining operations. Now, when the president signed that executive order, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said this. This does not remove the other protections that already exist in those areas. It's just making the monuments more manageable. However, the order itself indicates otherwise. The window to light fireworks in Utah opens tomorrow morning. And if you're planning to light some for Pioneer Day later on this week, you're going to want to check the rules in the city where you live. The state is easing up on some of those restrictions, but not everywhere. After recent rain helped lower fire danger in some parts of Utah, the state is taking a different approach to fireworks for the 24th.

[00:10:32]Instead of a statewide ban, Governor Cox says cities can decide where fireworks are allowed using their own local fireworks maps. Those maps are available through your city or the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands.

[00:10:45]>> Prepared for any scenario. If you are going to light fireworks, even if you are in a place that has had an inch and a half of rain over the last week, still be uh still be very prepared. and uh let's make sure everyone gets home safe on the uh on the 24th.

[00:10:58]>> Officials say if fireworks spark a wildfire, you could face serious penalties. So, they're urging you to check local fireworks maps before lighting anything off. Again, those maps are available through your city or the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands. Said it twice because we just want to make sure that you know where you can get it. However, some areas aren't budging on their fireworks restrictions. Moab says they're keeping their fireworks ban in place for the rest of the month because of dangerous conditions that have created very high wildfire danger across several areas of the state. And despite fireworks being allowed at Bonavville Salt Flats earlier this month for the 4th of July, that will not be the case for the 24th. The Bureau of Land Management warned on social media that fireworks are prohibited on all managed public lands.

[00:11:44]That does include the Salt Flats on Pioneer Day. and folks all over the state getting ready to celebrate Pioneer Day. This is a look at some of the weeks of festivities. Things kick off with the Days of 47 float preview later on this morning at the Mountain America Expo Center beginning at 11:00. The Desert News Marathon begins at 5:30 Friday morning with several kinds of races.

[00:12:06]Ogden's Pioneer Days rodeo is going on now through this Friday. And in true pioneer style, this is the place Heritage Park will have a handcart parade, flag ceremony, even a watermelon eating contest this Friday. To see the full list of activities, check out our article on ksl.com.

[00:12:24]So, we are looking ahead to Pioneer Day.

[00:12:27]People really excited about that. But, uh, Matt Johnson said, you have some more pressing issues that you need to talk about right now.

[00:12:33]>> Yes, we've had some rain this morning.

[00:12:35]Uh there is a flash flood warning on the Beaver River from the Cottonwood fire burn scar. We've received some rain on it about a/ inch to 3/4 of an inch. So heads up if you live in the Beaver area.

[00:12:47]Uh monsoon thunderstorms Tuesday and Wednesday. Flash flood potential is going to be elevated for the next couple of days. And then of course all eyes on burn scars, drywashes, and slot canyons.

[00:12:57]Right now looking in southern Utah at the Pine Valley Mountains over St. George. Hey, we had a gorgeous sunrise, but now there's a couple of showers in the area and you can see this band of rain working through west central and southwest Utah. That'll clear the way for some more sunshine this afternoon.

[00:13:14]And that afternoon sunshine may just allow for some thunderstorms to start to fire up. So, chance for storms uh across the Wasatch Front, 99 today. Better chance tomorrow, 92. You get into Thursday, 94, partly cloudy. Coming up in just a few minutes, we're going to take a look at the 7-day forecast and when and where these storms could land just ahead.

[00:13:35]>> All right, sounds like a plan there, Matt. Let's take a live look at your morning drive. You just headed out the door this morning, watching your traffic and you're watching a parking lot develop here on I-15 in Draper. So, you've got a crash right here on the left hand side that is really may have contributed to some of this, but you can see it's not blocking any lanes of traffic here coming through about 104 south. The main thing you need to know is traffic just picking up here this morning and you've got a lot of it here in the south end of the valley. For whatever reason this Tuesday you're seeing a lot of congestion coming in from Utah County into the Salt Lake Valley. So be aware there's a couple crashes again not blocking any lanes but significant backups coming through here from the south end of the valley. So couple other places but you saw some road repairs on I 80. A couple other things that causing some level of concern, but by far coming in from Utah County will be slower than normal, Lori.

[00:14:27]>> All right, thanks for the heads up, Ryan. Turning now to world news this morning. We're learning the identities of two American soldiers killed in an Iranian strike on a base in Jordan.

[00:14:37]25-year-old Lieutenant Tyler James Frien from Hawaii, where flags are at half staff there right now. and 19-year-old private Isabella Gonzalez from Carolton, Texas, where veterans in her hometown American Legion Post are honoring her this morning. President Trump is promising revenge, writing, "Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will have to pay for that killing many times over." In a sign of the war expanding, Yemen's Iran aligned Houthies said on Monday they are starting a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in a critical gateway to the Red Sea. While Lieutenant Tyler James Fen was from Hawaii, we've learned he has ties to Utah. He was a Southern Utah University student who was just weeks away from graduating and receiving his master's degree in business. We're told Lieutenant Fian came to Utah to go to school after receiving his commission from SU's Army ROC program in the spring of 2024. He was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, but also served in the Utah National Guard in Cedar City while he attended SU. SU's president issued a statement reading in part, quote, "Our hearts are with his family, fellow service members, classmates, and all who knew and love Tyler as we mourn this profound loss together. We're grateful for his service, his sacrifice will forever be remembered by the Thunderbird community." Lieutenant Fon will be awarded his degree postumously.

[00:16:06]New developments this morning and our nation's capital where we've learned the White House working to upgrade the Qatari donated jet that is newly started serving as Air Force One. That move comes after administration officials internally discussed the need for President Trump to avoid flying it in high threat areas. Not long ago, the president appeared to admit that the plane needed some additional enhancements, telling reporters on Sunday that the plane would soon be quote maxed out. President Trump used the plane for his flight to Turkey earlier this month to meet with NATO leaders, but chose to take older Air Force One plane home with several outlets at the time reporting Iran might have been planning to attack that aircraft. This morning, Senator Darling Graham says that she will run to be the Republican nominee in the race to represent South Carolina in the US Senate. She was appointed last week to serve the rest of her brother Lindsey Graham's current term after his sudden death. Her brother has held that seat since 2003.

[00:17:05]New developments out of Hollywood this morning after a judge has put the brakes on the largest merger in entertainment history. Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery. A temporary restraining order has been issued for the next two weeks that prevents the companies from closing the deal this month. Attorneys general from 12 states have filed a lawsuit claiming the merger violates antitrust laws. The state will now seek a preliminary injunction which could include the could freeze the merger for months. The judge has set a hearing for August 3rd to consider that injunction.

[00:17:39]And this morning, Utah Attorney General Derek Brown is joining 48 other states, urging the FCC to crack down on robotic scam calls. Every month, roughly 20 million Utah phone numbers are inundated with them. Now, the group of attorneys general are asking for stronger rules that would cut off scammers access to numbers they use to reach victims.

[00:18:01]Specifically, they're asking for stricter certifications when purchasing or reselling phone numbers. They're also asking companies to submit reports of their phone number sales so law enforcement can hold scammers responsible. Right now, Salt Lake leaders are launching a new tourism campaign labeling our state capital as America's mountain city. They hope to highlight Utah's resorts and outdoor recreation. Visit Salt Lake organizers say no other city offers an urban experience just 40 minutes from some of our mountains. They are also bringing to light Salt Lake's culinary scene, which is slowly capturing national attention.

[00:18:39]The effort could help the city gain momentum as the state prepares to host the Winter Olympics in 2034.

[00:18:46]All right, let's get back to Matt Johnson and talk about our weather right now. Uh Beaver, that area seeing some at least a flash flood warning, but you've been watching the cameras around that city. You haven't seen evidence of a lot of that flooding just yet.

[00:19:00]>> Yes. And I don't suspect that we will see what we saw on Sunday. That was a flash flood emergency, right? That's when things are imminent. A and life-threatening flooding could and or will be happening. So, I'm not seeing that. At K's Meadow, which is up at the top of the Beaver Canyon area, you've got 7200s. And that's a reason why we're a little bit concerned about how much water might be coming down the Beaver River. Brian Head 4600s 410 for Alta Canab Camas into Bryce Canyon and Richfield. Well, anywhere from a quarter to a third of an inch and some of that was received this morning. High pressure still over Colorado allowing for that rain and monsoon moisture to stream into the state. Today, we are looking at a chance for storms to fire in the mountain tops and then they'll try to drift into the valleys. Yes, maybe even the Wasach front. That's the hope as we've watched models tease us days on end over the last 7 to 10 days of bringing thunderstorms into the Wasatch.

[00:20:00]But we got a little rain this morning, hoping for more out of it this afternoon. This is 11:00 tonight. Notice how radar still active, so we may see some overnight thunderstorms. We'll take it into tomorrow. You got another chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms to pop up and fire up across portions of northern, central, and even southern Utah. Now, the flash flood threat is most elevated in central and southern Utah. You'll notice at our national and state parks, it's quite high. In fact, the highest is right here. Bryce Canyon and Escalant Grand Staircase at a level four of four risk today. Do not stay do not hike in any of these canyons, drywashes, or slot canyons because it's looking pretty elevated today. It's not worth the risk. Down in central and southern Utah, you got a scattered thunderstorm chances. Lowa 82, 84 in Panguish, St. George, 101. You got partly cloudy to most of cloudy skies this afternoon up in the northern region. So that's the Idaho border. But you get into the Wasach front, I really do think there's a slight chance that we could see some thunderstorms today. Of course, the mountains and the Wasach back have the best chance, but models continue to indicate that thunderstorms could roll into the valley. 101 on Wednesday in St. George. We got triple digits. In fact, up to 106 on Pioneer Day headed into Sunday, Monday, next week up near 110. Watch that front 100 today, 92. Chance for storms both days today and tomorrow. And even those partly cloudy days, there could be some thunderstorms in the mountain tops over the next seven days. Brian, >> yeah, thanks for the heads up there, Matt. And here's another heads up you need if you're coming from the south end of the valley. They say Provo, Orm, Lehi, you name it. You've got some traffic and some company right here on I-15 headed north. Now, there's a crash right here at 104 South. It's off to the left hand side, not blocking any lanes, but you've got I think probably just the looks that we say of people driving by it. They like to slow down. And then look at the long line of cars going back. This is the shot from 119 South in Draper. And it's just painful out there this morning. It's It can be worse, right? But you've got a lot of cars.

[00:22:05]You've got a lot of company out here this morning. So, be aware. A couple of crashes right here. Again, none of it blocking any lanes, but enough of it causing a number of backups out there coming from Utah County into Salt Lake County here this morning. So, we give you the drive times out there where we're seeing how much and how long it'll take you to get through Provo to Salt Lake. A little bit more than you want.

[00:22:25]Twilla, that's improving from where it was with that road buckling word work they were working on. Ogden's never been a problem this morning. Just be aware the south end of the valley slower than normal. Lori.

[00:22:36]>> All right, Brian. Thank you. Finally this morning, we are looking out for the good. Monday was the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and an Ogden retirement community honored one of its own. Meta Hutchinson spent a decade at NASA headquarters, becoming the first woman and first black woman to serve as a logistics coordinator for the AY's satellite design teams. Staff celebrating her groundbreaking career with a special tribute. And Hutcherson says she hopes her story inspires others. Thanks so much for joining us on this Tuesday for this segment of KSL News. Now we leave you with a look at Salt Lake City waking up this morning.

[00:23:15]Have a great day.