The 2002 Winter Paralympics torch relay, known as the Journey of Fire, was held between March 1 and March 7, leading up to the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Paralympic flames were lit in 15 Utah cities and merged in Salt Lake City, with the resulting fire then carried around the city to the opening ceremony on March 7.[1][2]
Plans for the Paralympic torch relay were announced on December 12, 2001. Initially, 16 Utah cities were announced as planning to host flame lighting ceremonies, but North Ogden's ceremony was later canceled.[3]
The Paralympic flame was lit in 15 separate ceremonies in various Utah cities, using a variety of means. With no standardized procedure like the lighting of the Olympic flame at Olympia, Greece, Salt Lake Organizing Committee president Mitt Romney encouraged the various communities to ignite their fires in their own unique ways.[4] For example, the flame in Springville was lit by a "mountain man" capable of igniting a fire with his bare hands in six seconds.[5][6] At the Salt Lake County Ice Center in Murray, Canadian sledge hockey captain Todd Nicholson activated the flame by scoring a goal.[7]