Two evacuated homes in Draper collapsed Saturday morning due to sliding earth, and other homes in the neighborhood are being evaluated as snowmelt affects ground conditions, Draper officials said in a news release.
The two homes — located at 2463 and 2477 E Springtime Road — were evacuated in October, after Draper building officials revoked the certificates of occupancy for the residences. The city declared both homes in Hidden Canyon Estates “unfit for human habitation” due to dangerous conditions in soil shifting and breaks in the homes’ foundations.
No one was injured in the collapse, but at least one of the homes still contained some of the homeowners’ personal belongings.
Amanda Wardlow’s parents closed on their “dream home” in December 2021, and were forced out in November 2022 due to the unsafe conditions. She said the builder, Edge Homes, estimated at the time that they would be able to develop a plan for her parents to return to their home in six months.
“[My mom] kept all of her work stuff in there and then all of our baby pictures and scrapbooks and all of those really sentimental items were in her office, that we were actually going to go collect today,” Wardlow said Saturday. “We were going to go break into the house because none of the doors could open because of the shifting.”
One of the homes that collapsed slid onto nearby Ann’s Trail. The city has now closed that trail and Clark’s Trail to public use for the time being, urging individuals to stay away from the area due to the dangerous conditions.
Although the homes had foundation concerns prior to Utah’s record-setting season for snowpack, officials are still concerned about ground stability across the Wasatch Foothills as the snow continues to melt.
Engineers this morning issued evacuation orders for two additional houses — those on each side of the two homes that collapsed. The residents of those homes are evacuating today, officials said.
“Draper City has been following up with the developer, Edge Homes, for months on engineering studies Edge Homes has conducted regarding the stability of the surrounding area,” the news release states. “With the snow pack melting and creating changes in conditions, other homes in the neighborhood will be evaluated for safety concerns.”
Wardlow said the family may eventually look for personal belongings that survived among the debris of the home’s collapse. But she is unsure if anything will be salvageable by the time the area is deemed safe.
“My parents are just absolutely devastated,” Wardlow said. “This was supposed to be their forever home, with this beautiful view of the valley. They purchased this home and did lots of renovations after they closed on it to specialize it and make it theirs. And now it’s it’s gone. It’s at the bottom of a canyon.”
Correction • April 24, 12 p.m.: The story has been updated to correct the address of one of the homes that collapsed.
