BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — The pews inside The First Baptist Church of Beaver are typically filled on a Sunday morning, but they opened their doors for all of Beaver on Wednesday night.
Pastor Mark Dupont hosted a prayer meeting for people of all religions in response to the Cottonwood Fire.
“We just need God’s mercy right now,” Dupont said. "So we’re giving people the opportunity to come and look to him."
“There are differences in our churches and such as that, but there is the community camaraderie that goes on. In a crisis, people are ready to help each other,” Dupont said.
With flames still visible from town Beaver City declared a local emergency on Wednesday afternoon. This comes after Beaver County also declared an emergency.
They held a public meeting and spoke with residents about their concerns. Beaver City Mayor Matt Robinson said they want to be prepared for whatever happens next.
“To open up the conversations and the resources we need to fight the fire, support the fight of the fire, but also to take care of our citizens moving forward in regards to flood mitigation which is quickly becoming maybe our primary concern here in this valley,” Robinson said.
But being prepared now doesn’t make it any easier to see neighbors dealing with these losses.
We talked to one property owner, Marc Leduc, who shared a video of his cabin surrounded in flames.
“I don’t 100% know right now, but I think it’s still standing. Made it through that wind, looks like a fire tornado, but I don’t know for sure. My cameras are out now, I don’t have power, so it’s kind of just wait and hear,” Leduc said.
Three days and counting, and officials said they don’t think there is an end in sight.
“We’re going to continue to get on our knees and ask for help from above and then get up off our knees and go to work,” Robinson said.
Right now, they said they’re going to pray for their surrounding communities, as the fire shifts with the winds.
