MAPLETON — Crews are still investigating the cause of a fire early Thursday that destroyed a large home in a new area here.
Around 5:50 a.m., someone called 911 to report a house fire at 2563 S. Hidden Canyon Drive (570 West).
"It was very large home," said Mapleton Police Chief Dean Pettersson. "We don't know what the cause is, but (there was) probably over a million dollars in damage."
Crews from Mapleton and Spanish Fork battled the blaze, which had engulfed the entire house.
The house was under construction in a newer subdivision and probably a month from completion, Pettersson said. Because each home sits on at least an acre, no other homes were threatened.
The homeowners, when contacted through a family member, declined to comment on the fire as they were still in the "shock phase," the family member said.
Although officials aren't yet sure about the fire's cause, they are looking into reports that someone heard an explosion or a loud noise before the fire began, Pettersson said.
Neighbor Tony Abbott said he heard an explosion while still in bed and got up to see what was going on. As Abbott got dressed, he said he got a phone call from another neighbor telling him the house next to his was on fire.
So Abbott quickly sent his wife and kids down the street in the car while he watched crews battle the giant flames.
"It was engulfed," he said. "It went fast."
He said the house was the biggest in the subdivision, and he called the fire a tragedy.
"Especially (with) the economy, the state we are in right now," he said. "I can't imagine this was anything other than an accident. You hear an explosion, if someone was involved, they're still inside, which is a bad thing."
Contributing: Sam Penrod, KSL-TV. E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com