BEAVER, Utah — It’s a common occurrence for Utahns to seek higher ground amid the sweltering heat of summer.
For Richard Mulcock, his family has been coming to Beaver Mountain for at least 30 years. He and his wife, Wendy, eventually bought property in the Tushars and loved the escape it brought their family.
“The trails we would go on were just so beautiful, with the aspen, the quakes and the ponderosa pines," said Wendy.
But the drive the Mulcocks made up the canyon Tuesday was unlike any they’d done before.
Vehicles from near and far lined up for hours to drive up and see what the Cottonwood Fire had done to their communities. Homeowners scoured the apocalyptic landscape to salvage what they could, and found Mother Nature to be cruel in multiple ways.
“I had a snowmobile and trailer that survived the fire, and then an aspen tree fell, destroying the snowmobile,” said Alec Hornstein, who lives in Eagle Point during the winter.
After 'terrifying' fire encounter, Lofgreen residents return to find homes undamaged:
Hornstein also saw one of his rental yurts reduced to rubble, but found another property among pockets of green.
“I think 18 out of 22 condominiums burned, mine luckily being one that did not," he said/
The Mulcocks weren’t so lucky. They had just begun to build a new cabin and found it had burnt back down to the foundation. While they returned down the canyon, wondering if it was worth it to rebuild, others believe the area's beauty will still shine through.
“I mean it’s violent, it’s tragic. But it’s also part of the natural process. So we’ll find beauty in whatever is there," said Ken Barney, who owns a condominium in Eagle Point.
Ken and his wife, Ellen, are both part of the Elk Meadows Volunteer Fire Department on the mountain. While they were spared, their return was still an emotional journey.
“It’s kind of hard to reconcile being joyful and happy. knowing you’re still grieving and hurting for someone else," shared Ellen.
As the Barneys neighbors weigh difficult decisions in the future, they hope everyone can pull through together.
“We’ll be there to help them," Ellen said. "We want them to stay because part of the beauty is this community.”
