LOFGREEN, Utah — As Lofgreen residents returned to their Tooele County homes on a road surrounded by ash and debris from the Cherry Fire, they remained grateful that those homes were still standing.
Just a few miles outside of Vernon, two-lane State Route 36 takes you through the small neighborhood.
“Getting out of the city. It’s kind of like camping permanently," said resident Jared Richardson.
Surrounded by nature, Richardson and his family find peace beside the mountains. But so far this summer, that peace has turned to worry.
“The fire was moving so fast that after we noticed it," recalled Richardson, "we started getting prepped and ready to go because we thought it might be coming this way. Might. And then by the time that we were leaving, the smoke was so bad it was over the tops of our houses."
Eureka residents thankful to be home but ready if they receive third call to evacuate:
With the Iron Fire already across the way, the Cherry Fire quickly approached the southside of the community, forcing Richardson and the rest of Lofgreen to evacuate on Friday afternoon.
“It was just incredible how much fire there was on both sides of the road," said Richardson.
Intense fire conditions made for a difficult firefight, but in the end, crews were able to keep Lofgreen homes safe.
“We had much cooler weather, higher humidity, and winds have backed off. So that’s happened the last couple of days. It’s allowed firefighters to get in there and make more gains. Much more favorable conditions," explained Paige Pagnucco with Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 3.
After a weekend evacuation, what felt like the long road home opened back up.
“I was almost definite that I was going to come back and [the house] wasn’t going to be here by the way that it looked when we left," Richardson said. "So, I had that in my mind. I was very excited when I found out that it wasn’t harmed, and any homes in Lofgreen were even damaged.”
But it was no surprise that his newest neighbor was a 34-thousand-acre burn scar.
“All the vegetation gone," he said. "It kind of pulls at your heartstrings a little bit because it was so close to home. It could’ve been here. Kind of terrifying at the same time.”
