On May 30, 1879, fire was discovered under a restaurant. Hundreds of Silver Reef's residents threw buckets of water from nearby Leeds Creek on the fire and put wet blankets on the adjacent business buildings, but the fire spread to the Harrison House Hotel, one of the town's most prominent buildings. The fire destroyed several other businesses along Main Street before it was finally extinguished. "The Salt Lake Tribune" reported that Silver Reef had been "Chicagoed", and that a state of panic was felt even after the fire had been extinguished.