Locals fear 'dozens' of cabins potentially lost in Cottonwood Fire

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The Cottonwood Fire may be the state's most destructive fire.
• Gov. Spencer Cox and locals report dozens of cabins potentially lost in the fire.
• Efforts are underway to mitigate flood risks from burn scars and monsoon rains.

BEAVER — Locals said Wednesday they feared "dozens, if not more" cabins had been burned so far by the Cottonwood Fire as they remained in disbelief over the wildfire's progress.

It came as city leaders in Beaver were already eyeing how to navigate potential runoff flooding with the monsoon season fast approaching.

Earlier Wednesday, Gov. Spencer Cox said the fire may already be the most destructive fire in state history in terms of property damage.

"It's certainly catastrophic," Cox told reporters. "We know it's going to impact this community for a long, long time."

While assessments of the affected areas were expected to ramp up in the days ahead, Beaver Mayor Matt Robinson said he believed the number of lost cabins was likely "dozens to more than dozens."

"We've watched our beloved Beaver Mountain literally go up in smoke," Robinson said during an interview with KSL. "It's been a really emotional thing for us."

Meanwhile, resident Darrel Davis said he also believed the property damage would be heavy and said his family members alone had lost multiple cabins.

"It's devastating," Davis said. "I've got a brother that's got a cabin that's probably gone. I've got a sister with three cabins that are gone."

The ominous view and rapid spread of the fire both were stunning.

"I've never seen anything like this, even from here you can see the flames explode, the trees explode," Davis said. "We're on day three and, man, it's just gone."

Robinson said the city and county were already planning for potential flooding impacts between the burn scars left behind by the Cottonwood Fire and a weather forecast that called for monsoonal moisture.

"Here in approximately two weeks, a wetter than normal pattern will likely settle over our part of the state, and as a result of that and the burn scars, there will be a large amount of flooding and debris, runoff that comes out of the Beaver Canyon, the main channel of the Beaver River," Robinson said. "Some of that will be out of our control, but we need to focus on what we can control: cleaning up that main channel of the Beaver River and other tributaries, making sure that we have equipment stationed at the right points, the right equipment at the right place, to keep culverts and other things as clean as possible."

Robinson said the community has come together in the wake of the destruction.

"That is a silver lining and it's heartwarming," Robinson said. "It's what I have come to love and expect by living here, but the immediate response from the community has been, 'Hey, let's try to help each other out, let's try to come together, let's try to help our first responders and firefighters, make sure they're well cared for and feel our love and appreciation.'"

Robinson said an organized effort sponsored by the BIG Chamber of Commerce for Beaver, Iron and Garfield counties aimed to raise money for those affected by the Cottonwood Fire through an account set up at Utah Independent Bank in Beaver.

Davis said he expected the fire to have a lasting toll on the community in Beaver.

"I can't believe how fast it went," Davis said. "It's going to devastate a lot of people."

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Andrew Adams

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Andrew Adams is an award-winning journalist and reporter for KSL. For two decades, he's covered a variety of stories for KSL, including major crime, politics and sports.