BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — As property owners returned to see what survived the Cottonwood Fire, some found what was heartbreaking, while others found what was hopeful.
FOX 13 News was escorted up Kents Lake Road to see the canyon for the first time more than a week after the Cottonwood Fire sparked. The impact found was often indiscriminate in areas and completely untouched in others.
Beaver County Sheriff Cody Black saw firsthand when the historic Tushar Lakeside campground came under fire.
'Big Tree,' a famous ponderosa pine, survives Cottonwood Fire, but officials fear it won't recover:
“I was involved in it - up here in it,” said Sheriff Black. “[Fire officials] were calling me and they were giving me set points and they said, ‘Hey, it’s time to go. We got to get people out of here,’ - and we didn’t hesitate.”
He watched the flames race through the hills, as fast as it was seemingly random.
“14 acres a minute - try outrunning that,” Sheriff Black said. “It didn’t matter if we had all the fire trucks in the world. When it decided to go, it was crazy.”
After working as hard as they could to get people back on the mountain, they saw plenty of heartbreak but also hope.
“The way this fire acted - it made no sense,” Sheriff Black said. “It was indiscriminate in some places, and the next-door neighbor’s house wasn’t melted at all.”
That even included an island of green amid the ash.
According to Beaver County Commissioner Pearson, the county also suffered losses of its own.
“Beaver County just purchased the Puffer Lake property - it’s pretty much a total loss,” said Pearson.
Complex Incident Management Public Information Officer Alyssa Mason also emphasized that there are more than 1,000 first responders out on the mountain working to ensure that the community can return to it one day.
Containment grew to 19% by Wednesday night.
“We’re at 169 miles of fire line around - there is 33 miles of containment line,” said Mason. “There is not a smoke column behind me - and that’s a good place to be moving forward.”
The local leaders hope their communities can see what's risen from the ashes, and a future that lies ahead in their mountain.
“The mountain will never be the same as I grew up with it,” said Pearson. “But it all comes back - and we’ll be here to watch it. There’s hope for Beaver County. There’s hope for our Tushar mountains.”
