EUREKA, Utah — With new wildfires popping up seemingly every day, there are now new concerns across much of Utah; rain storms and too much water on burn scars.
Folks living in Eureka are still coming to grips with how close recent wildfires came to destroying some homes and potentially the entire town.
Many residents are now keeping their eyes on the skies and the possibility of mudslides if the rains get heavy this weekend.
Golden Barlow wasn’t taking any chances.
Barlow said he and his family were loading up on sandbags provided by Eureka City.
“Oh, we’re just trying to prepare in case it starts raining on us within the next few days.”
The family lives on the ridge above Eureka, where a recent wildfire came within just a few yards of their home.
Now, with rain predicted over the next few days, Golden Barlow said too much water is the worry.
“I don’t know that it’s going to come down on us; the hill is pretty well compacted.
But with rain, you never know and there’s no plant life up there anymore.”
Tom Nedreberg is a City Council Member and has lived in Eureka for more than 40 years.
He said the rain will come eventually; it just depends on how much and how quickly it falls.
“We’re concerned about the rain, obviously. We had a large group of people come and help fill sandbags," said Nedreberg.
But even with rain in the forecast, neighbor George Wintle said fire fears are still very real.
“The thunder don’t help neither. We still got another side of the mountain that could burn down, too. One lightning strike, and that side starts on fire," said Wintle.
But after surviving this month’s wildfire, Tom Nedreberg said he’s once again betting on his neighbors to weather whatever comes their way.
“But when push came to shove, and it was right down to the wire, people came together.
We still have our town; there’s a lot to be thankful for," he said.
