Utah wildfires surge as Cottonwood Fire forces evacuations near Beaver
Evacuations spread across Beaver County as the Cottonwood Fire raced past 94,000 acres, cut off a highway and left residents waiting for word on lost homes.
Residents in Eagle Point, Merchant Valley, HiLo Estates and Arrowhead Summer Homes were forced out as the Cottonwood Fire pushed through Beaver County and shut State Route 153 between mileposts 2 and 25. The blaze, which started near Cottonwood Campground on June 22 on the Beaver Ranger District in Fishlake National Forest, had grown into one of the nation’s largest active wildfires by the weekend.
By June 28, the fire had burned nearly 94,000 acres, and Associated Press said it had spread to nearly 111 square miles while remaining 0% contained. Winds and extremely dry fuels drove the fire across rugged terrain, with earlier reports placing the burn at more than 31,000 acres on June 24 and more than 71,000 acres on June 27. The U.S. Forest Service ordered the area closed beginning June 24 at 12:01 a.m., then updated the closure on June 27 at 4:00 p.m. The order remains in effect through December 31 unless it is rescinded.
The damage has already reached the local economy and seasonal homes that dot the canyon. KUER reported that the fire severely damaged Eagle Point ski resort and destroyed summer cabins in sparsely populated parts of Beaver County. County officials said they could not safely send deputies into the canyon for structural checks and were overwhelmed by requests from residents asking whether their properties survived, so they urged owners to file Cottonwood Fire Property Loss Forms instead.
Utah’s emergency response widened as the fire season intensified statewide. Governor Spencer Cox declared a state of emergency on June 25 and imposed temporary fireworks restrictions, saying Utah had already seen 354 wildfires burn 141,743 acres this year. His office said 94% of the state was in severe or extreme drought and at least 75% of this season’s fires were caused by human activity. The executive order said the conditions had exhausted firefighting resources and produced some of the most dangerous fire behavior in state history.
Beaver Mayor Matt Robinson discussed the crisis as more fires burned across Utah, from areas north of Salt Lake City to south of Provo. For Beaver County, the immediate questions are less about containment than about access, assessments and recovery: which homes remain standing, how long the highway will stay closed, and when crews can safely enter the canyon to measure the losses left behind.
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