Neighbors believe poplar seeds helped spread fire in Springville home

SPRINGVILLE — The fire tore through one home Thursday and damaged another, and neighbors believe poplar seeds on the ground helped the fire spread from the yard.

“There was just stuff everywhere,” Braden Storrs said Friday. “Pretty wild.”

Storrs said the fire on 300 East, near 1800 South, started around 8 p.m. when someone spotted flames in the backyard of a home.

Surveillance video shared with KSL TV showed the flames steadily advancing through the ground toward the home, which was the most damaged by the fire.

“I heard a big, loud knock on the door and I was like 'that's weird,'” Storrs said. “I go out, and I go out, I run away, and they tell me 'fire!'”

Storrs said he and other neighbors grabbed a fire extinguisher and hoses and fought the blaze themselves with fire crews on the way.

Eventually, the flames spread to the house, fully engulfing half of the house, including the carport and two cars.

“The tires on the cars were blowing out one by one,” Storrs said. “You could hear them leaving.”

Storrs said some family members were home at the time and the owner was asleep, but her two sons came home from the rec center as the fire was spreading and got everyone out.

“Luckily everyone was safe, no injuries,” he said.

A Springville Fire and Rescue spokesperson said the cause was still undetermined Friday evening.

However, Storrs said he and other neighbors believe a layer of cottonwood seeds on the ground helped the fire spread to the home, which also damaged the side of his own house.

“The wind was blowing and there was just poplar,” Storrs said, noting the trees behind his and the neighbor’s house. “This stuff is incredibly flammable.”

He said he was aware of other past fires in the neighborhood involving cottonwood seeds, but he said those fires were apparently put out quickly, unlike this one.

Neighbors said cutting down the trees would likely be very expensive.

“Yeah, it’s just not a good thing,” Storrs said. “Understand that if something happens, it literally takes 10, 15 minutes and your whole house goes up in smoke.”

Storrs created a GoFundMe* account to help the displaced family cover expenses.

*KSL TV does not guarantee that money deposited into the account will be used for the benefit of the persons designated as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit into the Account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.