A Spanish Fork gas station was destroyed just after midnight Saturday after a fire in the building’s kitchen.

“A passerby coming out of Spanish Fork Canyon noticed smoke coming from the gas station and made the call to 911 to report the fire. First arriving Spanish Fork Fire & EMS units reported heavy smoke and fire coming from the southwest corner of the building which had already breached through the roof,” reads a press release from the fire department.

The gas station, a Chevron located at 3601 E. Powerhouse Road, faces an estimated $1 million in damages, according to the fire department. The damage estimate is determined by evaluating damage to the property and content. Damages were also limited to the convenience store, with Spanish Fork Fire & EMS Chief Eddie Hales saying there was “no concern whatsoever” to the fuel system.

Joining the Spanish Fork fire department was the Spanish Fork Police Department, Mapleton Fire & Rescue, Salem Fire Department, Woodland Hills Fire Department, Payson Fire & Rescue, Genola Fire Department, Central Utah 911, Dominion Energy and Spanish Fork Public Works.

“It was just a manpower-intensive firefight with the fire being located in the attic space of that older structure. There was a lot of hidden void areas that allowed the fire to move throughout that took a lot of intensive manpower to locate and then extinguish,” Hales said.

The fire was controlled within 90 minutes of the crew’s arrival, the release reads. One firefighter was also treated on-site for minor injuries and returned to regular duty.

The fire investigator determined the cause was an arc — a type of electrical explosion — within the breaker panel, Hales said. The fire started in the wall and went up into the building’s attic. According to Utah County records, the property is owned by Idaho-based Jacksons Food Stores Inc.

“The property owner of the store was contacted; he actually arrived last night and (was) working with us as we went through our investigation process. So they were very much involved and were aware of it pretty early on in the fire incident,” Hales said.

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