Flames were first reported shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday.
(Utah Department of Transportation) A massive fire can be seen burning on Traverse Mountain in Lehi on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.
A massive fire Sunday fully engulfed a new housing complex in Lehi.
The four-story complex was under construction, and no one was believed to be inside any of the structures, according to Jeanteil Livingston, a spokesperson with the city of Lehi.
The complex was located at 2967 W. 5230 North, Livingston said, near the intersection of Frontage Road and Traverse Mountain Boulevard.
It sits on Traverse Mountain, south of the Salt Lake County Flight Park, where the fire could be seen Sunday morning.
Flames were first reported at about 10:17 a.m., and the development was quickly enveloped.
(Mary Woodger via City of Lehi) An under-construction apartment complex is engulfed in flames in Lehi on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.
Those flames also spread to a one-story structure next to the complex, Livingston said, as well as two tractors. It’s unclear what the structure was, but it seemed to be under construction as well, she said.
By Sunday afternoon, the fire was still “active” but considered fully contained.
No injuries have been reported.
“The fire does not pose a threat to nearby homes, and the cause is under investigation,” read an afternoon statement from the city.
Wind helped fuel blaze
Speaking near the scene Sunday, Lehi fire Chief Jeremy Craft said responding crews realized “right away” that the fire could grow unwieldy, noting the gusty morning conditions.
“In Lehi, we have limited resources,” Craft said, “so we started calling other departments.”
About 100 firefighters worked the massive scene, including crews from Spanish Fork, Draper, Saratoga Springs, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Orem, Alpine, Highland and Utah County. Craft called it a “really, really manpower-intensive” response.
At one point, embers carried by wind ignited a small spot of grass near the burning complex, but a crew happened to be right by the roughly 10-square-foot patch, Craft said, and it was quickly extinguished.
The complex was supposed to be a high-density, transit-oriented housing development, said Craft, who looked at the plans while helping to manage the response.
He noted construction sites are typically filled with materials “primed to burn,” and this was no exception.
Extreme heat from the flames even damaged a couple of cranes at the site, Craft said, which complicated efforts to extinguish hot spots and preserve evidence.
“We’re having a hard time putting our people in there, because we don’t believe those cranes are stable, and we don’t want to put them under a falling crane,” he said Sunday afternoon. “Our motto is there’s no life-safety issue right now, so we’re not going to create one.”
Cause could take days to determine
Craft said it’s too early to speculate what may have caused the fire, in part because crews would likely be working the scene for the better part of the day.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if our investigators don’t actually get on the rubble pile until tomorrow morning, after it’s had a time to cool,” he said.
Once that happens, he said, it could take at least four to five days to find a point of origin and determine cause, based on the amount of rubble and debris.
As crews continue their work, the city asked that people avoid the north end of Traverse Mountain, including nearby walking trails, until further notice.
