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‘Very bizarre’ large explosion heard across multiple cities in Salt Lake Valley

Jan 22, 2025, 6:40 AM | Updated: 11:53 am

A large explosion was heard over multiple cities in the Salt Lake Valley early morning Jan. 22, 202...

A large explosion was heard over multiple cities in the Salt Lake Valley early morning Jan. 22, 2025. (Courtesy Pamela Sandoval)

(Courtesy Pamela Sandoval)

SALT LAKE CITY — A loud explosion in the sky was heard overnight over multiple cities in the Salt Lake Valley, according to multiple tips sent to KSL TV and police.

According to the West Valley City Police Department, callers from West Valley City, Taylorsville and even Murray reported hearing the loud boom just before 3 a.m. Wednesday. Outdoor home surveillance camera footage from one residence also showed a flash of light.

“We got calls that were just, you know, hundreds of yards apart from each other, a mile apart from each other and that’s just not typical,” said Lt. Bill Merritt with West Valley City police.

Merritt said that a West Valley City officer was one of the spectators and reported seeing the large flashes of light and the large boom, too. Officers responded in the area of some reports and couldn’t locate any odd activity or objects that could have fallen. Then, the reports kept coming.

“If we get like a shots fired call then, you know, we’ll get several calls within a neighborhood or maybe a quarter mile,” Merritt said. “But to get calls that are coming in miles apart, it’s obvious this is something big, especially when it’s in different cities — Murray city, that’s several miles away from us so … don’t know what to say about that.”

Police had no immediate information on what the explosion could be, but the investigation was ongoing Wednesday morning.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my career,” Merritt said. “Very bizarre.”


Caught this explosion on video? Share video, news tips and more with KSL TV at news@ksl.com.


This is a developing story. It may be updated.


Video courtesy Pamela Sandoval

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‘Very bizarre’ large explosion heard across multiple cities in Salt Lake Valley