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MOAB — As homeowners in Moab returned to their charred houses on Thursday, investigators were trying to figure out who sparked the brush fire that overtook 10 homes, and how.
Janet Gay went home to find a black, scorched frame and soot-covered belongings, including pots and pans, her granddaughter's doll and a chest with mementos. Her calico cat was still missing.
"We'll live," she said after surveying the damage.
The blaze began in a wooded area near Pack Creek about 6 p.m. Tuesday and was "human caused," Moab Police Chief Jim Winder said Thursday, but further details on its origin eluded authorities. Officials have not put out a dollar estimate of the damage caused.
Gay recalled five engines responding to her house Tuesday. At first, she believed crews would put out the fire, but it swallowed her home as she watched. Dry brush, hot weather and strong winds propelled the flames, authorities said.
"We all got hoses out and watered and tried to stop what we could, but it was jumping so fast. By the time it got to our fence line, the police just said, 'Grab what you can and get out now,’" Gay said. "I'm just trying to recover anything I can."
Rick Carrigan and his wife, Becky Carrigan, escaped their burning home with their dog, but their home is a total loss. The pair sifted through the rubble on Thursday to find Carrigan's mother's coffee mug and family photos.
Before the fire, Carrigan said he "was really kind of enjoying life as it is. But now it'll be life as it was."
Moab police are heartbroken for those affected by the fire and promised to aid in recovery efforts, the force wrote on its Facebook page.
As crews fought the blaze, companies hauled in water, restaurants brought meals to first responders and hotels provided rooms to those displaced, the department noted.
The police department encouraged residents "to reflect on how fortunate we all are to live in such a beautiful place filled with some of the finest human beings on this planet."
Pam Lopez, a Moab preschool teacher whose home was not affected, did not need the reminder. Her grandchildren, ages 6, 8 and 9, set up a lemonade stand on Wednesday, raising about $100. The family was planning to deliver the money Thursday afternoon to the Grand County Credit Union, which is accepting donations to help families whose homes were damaged.
"They're trying to do what they can to help," Lopez said of her grandkids. "They were so excited when they counted out the money and they got $100. I think they thought they could build everybody's houses back up."
Lopez said several of her friends' homes were reduced to dust and ashes, and she could not recall a fire of such magnitude in the community since the former Doxol gas plant ignited more than four decades ago, when she was a teen.
"It's a pretty unique community. Very diverse, and yet, things like this really bring us together," Lopez said.
Tinderbox conditions across southeastern Utah have led federal and state land managers to tighten fire restrictions in southeastern Utah, in Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan counties, starting Friday.
The new order prohibits wood or charcoal campfires, even in campgrounds. It also bans smoking outside of paved, barren areas; welding and metal cutting; and using fireworks.
By the time the restrictions were announced on Thursday, Emery County's Trail Mountain Fire had grown to 9,500 acres, and was 10 percent contained.
The fire has forced the evacuation of 22 people in Bear Creek Canyon, who all are staying with family or friends, said county sheriff's spokeswoman Janalee Luke. Flames were not yet threatening the canyon homes, but residents were asked to leave because smoke was hanging thick over the houses and crews closed the road. Two people chose to stay despite the order, Luke said.
Homes belonging to the evacuees are without power after fire crews cut lines to battle the blaze.
"The fire's still active in that area, and very spotty. It jumps from here to there, so it's still pretty dangerous," Luke said. It began as a prescribed burn but spread rapidly last week during a thunderstorm, overtaking a cabin and closing a portion of state Route 31.
Power also was temporarily cut to the nearby Rhino coal mine, but has been restored. Crews are expected to return to work there Monday.
KSL's Southern Utah News Section
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