Eric Hawkins, a spokesman with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, released the following statement on Wednesday, October 20, 2021:

At around 7:00 this evening, a fire started on the second-floor roof of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The most likely cause of the fire is from combustible construction materials that ignited on their own. We are grateful for the quick response of emergency personnel, who were able to extinguish the fire and are on-site conducting their investigation. We are also grateful that no one was injured in this incident and that property damage is minimal and the building will be operational tomorrow.