Cottonwood Fire devastates Eagle Point Resort, forces long closure

Flames from the Cottonwood Fire forced guests, workers and nearby residents out of Eagle Point Resort after the blaze was first reported about 3:30 p.m. on June 22 near Mile Marker 5 on State Route 153 in Beaver County. Beaver County emergency officials ordered mandatory evacuations for Eagle Point, Merchant Valley, HiLo Estates, Arrowhead summer homes and surrounding areas, and no injuries were reported at the resort during the evacuation.

By June 25, the fire had grown to more than 70,000 acres and remained 0% contained, with authorities describing severe fire behavior in rugged terrain. The speed of the spread left little room for a full inspection at the mountain resort, where officials said dangerous conditions kept crews from immediately assessing the scale of the losses.

Eagle Point Resort said it suffered significant property loss and would remain closed for a considerable amount of time. Damage reports and statements from the resort indicated that the Lower Lodge/Canyonside building, some condominium buildings and multiple cabins were destroyed or heavily damaged, while other parts of the property were still standing. The resort temporarily suspended operations because of the fire and the evacuation orders, and owner Shane Gadbow said Eagle Point would provide a detailed update once it could safely re-enter the site.

The fire’s impact stretches beyond one ski area. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said the blaze may be the most destructive fire in state history, a warning that resonates in Beaver County, where the resort sits inside a broader recreation economy that depends on summer cabins, seasonal workers and steady tourism. Samantha Garcia, Eagle Point’s director of marketing, spoke about the aftermath on CBS News as the resort faced the loss of key buildings and the uncertainty of how long the shutdown would last. In sparsely populated western Utah, the evacuation system moved quickly enough to protect lives, but the fire’s advance through steep, remote country showed how hard it is to shield mountain resorts and their surrounding homes when fire season turns severe.