AMERICAN FORK, Utah — It was a long night for the Frazier family, 24 hours after their family farm in American Fork was destroyed by fire.
"This is a wrecking zone right here, and I don’t really want to enter it," said Prenten Frazier on Monday.
Prenten and his wife, Rachel, along with their five children and other family members, are all involved in Beehive State Honey, the farm they have run for the last 15 years. They were on-site to assess the damage from Sunday morning's fire and see what they could save in hopes of moving forward.
"It’s really difficult to see right now," shared Prenten.
The business was more like a home for the farm's owner.
"It’s how I grew up," said Prenten, "helping my father with the bees."
His children now work alongside him and shed tears as they look over what was left behind.
"Our boys became men, they learned to work, they learned to do things with their hands. They learned to build and they learned beekeeping," Rachel explained.
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Rachel admitted that it's hard to put into words what this place not only meant to her family but to an entire community. The farm often hosted tours for school groups and kids to learn about how they cold-extracted honey from their bees.
The Frazier family was able to take their first look at the damage on Monday. They thanked the community members who tried to come and help, and all the first responders for running into the fire to do what they could.
"The call came in for us at about 4 a.m., and by the time the fire crews arrived, it was well involved with fire," said American Fork Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Brandon Boshard.
Video shared with FOX 13 News shows the intensity of the fast-moving flames. Firefighters from American Fork, Lehi and Pleasant Grove were able to save a warehouse that the Fraziers said they need to house their bees through the winter months.
"We’re grateful we were able to do some bit of good for these folks," added Boshard.
The 37,000 square foot building housing the farm's extraction and bottling was lost, with damages estimated in the millions. Despite the immense loss, everyone is grateful that there were no serious injuries or fatalities.
The cause and origin of the fire are still under investigation.
"We’re devastated for the business owners who lost so much," Boshard said. "We wish we could have done more. Our heart goes out to them."
Prenten shared how the family will go on one day at a time and doesn't think they can stop, as they vow to rebuild and do what they can to care for their thousands of bees that all survived.
"We can’t let the bees down," he said. "We still have to take care of them. They’re still alive, so we have to continue to help them and not focus on this, but one thing at a time."
