SAM Magazine—Eden, Utah, Jan. 16, 2024—An early morning fire ripped through the lodge at Nordic Valley Resort yesterday, causing extensive damage to the building and leading ski area officials to cease operations until further notice.

A ski area worker noticed flames and smoke emanating from the unoccupied lodge around 1:50 a.m., according to reports from the Weber Fire District, which responded to the blaze along with firefighters from Ogden City, South Ogden City, and the Weber County Sheriff’s Office.

“Upon arrival, crews were met with a working incident,” the report said. “Due to buried hydrants, heavy wind, smoke, and freezing temperatures, battling the fire was challenging and demanding, causing it to burn through a wall and up through the roof.”

“Unfortunately, the entire lodge was damaged including our ticket office, retail store, restaurant and business offices,” according to a statement from the ski area. “A silver lining in this difficult story is the surrounding structures and all lifts appear to be unaffected.”

The historic, barn-like lodge building was unoccupied at the time for the fire, and no injuries were reported. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation, and operations at Nordic Valley remain suspended. 

“Due to these unforeseen circumstances, Nordic Valley will be closed until we can get power and our systems up and running again,” said ski area officials. “We are working hard to make the necessary pivots to allow us to resume operations.” 

No timeline for reopening was offered, however.

Nordic Valley is offering credits to guests who purchased lift tickets for the period that the resort remains closed. Season pass refunds are not being offered, although officials said that policy remains subject to review. Meanwhile, holders of the resort’s Power Pass are being encouraged to visit nearby Power Pass sister mountains Brian Head Resort, Utah, Purgatory Resort, Colo., and Arizona Snowbowl–all, like Nordic Valley, owned by Mountain Capital Partners.

Officials said that while lifts are undamaged, “we will not be running the lifts until we know we can operate safely. In the meantime, we are working on our new operating plan so we can get the lifts running as quickly as possible.” 

Uphill travel also is “highly discouraged” since the fire department closed the road leading to the resort as the investigation into the lodge fire continues. 

“Our first priority is to ensure our employees and guests safety,” ski area officials stated. “While our lifts have been unaffected, many other critical operations (and necessities, like bathrooms) were impacted severely. Please know that we are actively working on solutions that will allow us to reopen as quickly as we can.”

Report by Bob Curley.

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