DRAPER, Utah, April 24, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Draper City officials are asking the public to stay clear of the scene where a mudslide caused two houses to topple down a hill, and two additional homes to be evacuated and have their occupancy certification revoked.
“Draper Police would like the public to be aware that anyone trespassing on closed trails (Ann’s Trail and Clark’s Trail) or around the condemned homes on Springtime Road and slide area may be subject to citation,” says a statement issued Monday.
“People have been going into the prohibited areas, around fencing, etc. We need everyone to stay out of the area due to safety concerns.”
The two Draper homes destroyed early Saturday, at 2463 and 2477 E. Springtime Road, had been declared unfit for habitation last October due to stability concerns, so they were not occupied. A neighbor alerted emergency crews Friday night after hearing creaking sounds from the structures and retaining fence.
Sgt. Mike Elkins, Draper City Police, briefed reporters at the scene, saying the major collapse happened at about midnight Saturday morning.
“Our officers and our fire department got up here on scene,” Elkins said. “And here on scene, as you can see, we’ve kind of locked the area down. Both the houses actually collapsed and have now gone down the back of the hill.”
He observed both collapse, Elkins said.
“I have never seen anything like this before,” he said. “It’s quite something to see. It’s a lot of destruction in just a few seconds.”
A Draper City statement released Saturday said its building officials issued a notice revoking occupancy of the two homes on Oct. 25 of last year.
“The notice declared both homes unfit for human habitation and occupancy due to dangerous conditions. The conditions were related to earth shifting that resulted in sliding and breaks in the homes’ foundations,” a statement said.
