LOGAN, Utah — As flames crawled up around the Island neighborhood in Logan late Friday night, thick smoke filled the air just feet away from Utah State University and hundreds of homes.
“I was half asleep and my roommates pounded on my door,” Keona Long said. “I grabbed my water bottle and my purse.”
She wasn’t the only Logan neighbor that was startled by the fact that fire was growing right in their area. First responders got the call around 11pm and quickly, a mandatory evacuation had been issued for all residents within a 1.5 mile radius of Canyon Road.
ADDITIONAL VIDEO:
“Oh, it was scary,” Long said. “I’m from Maui, and I was there during the Lahina fires and we also had to plan for an evacuation then, too. So it’s no joke because you have to leave at any time."
Hannah and Tyler Blackham live in the neighborhood too. They said at one point they went outside their house and saw smoke surrounding their neighborhood.
“The horizon was just red,” Hannah said.
After checking in with neighbors and the official social media pages, they decided it was best to grab what they could and leave the area.
“We also found out about the formal evacuation saying that we couldn’t come back anyways, so we decided to go to Brigham City that had the nearest available hotel,” Tyler said.
On Saturday morning, the fire’s thick orange flames turned into black dust with residual smoke resting in the air. Utah Fire Info reported the fire was at 50% containment and 30 acres by Saturday afternoon. The firefighters were looking through the burned area for any hot spots before allowing all residents to come back home.
For the Blackhams, this was a reminder to always be prepared, and they’re grateful for the firefighters' hard work.
“It really puts into perspective, like, to make sure that you have a plan,” Hannah said. “Because I’ve never done this before. I’ve never had to evacuate for a fire.”
