- The Monroe Canyon Fire has destroyed three cabins in Sevier County.
- Firefighters are battling the human-caused fire, which has burned 8,646 acres.
- Despite rain, the fire remains 0% contained; investigations into its cause continue.
MONROE, Sevier County — A pair of cabins that had been around for "six or seven generations" are among the structures destroyed by a fast-growing fire in central Utah.
The Monroe Canyon Fire has now destroyed three cabins, according to the Sevier County Sheriff's Office. The exact location of all three was not immediately known, but Dale and Pamela Magelby, whose family has lived near Monroe Mountain since 1870. said Wednesday that two of the cabins were owned by neighbors in the Magelby Reservoir area.
The cabins were part of the Buchanan, Peterson, Jensen, and Gay families in the area, said Brittnie Martindale, speaking on behalf of the families whose cabins were destroyed.
"We are heartbroken at the loss of two cabins that have been loved by our families for six or seven generations. There are so many wonderful memories we have all shared in these cabins and on this mountain," she said in a statement to KSL.
Martindale said her great-grandparents acquired the land almost a century ago, and her family has enjoyed time in the area about every year since. Her family was at one of the cabins this weekend when the fire broke out, leaving everyone "devastated" by how quickly the fire grew.
Thankfully, everyone was able to evacuate safely, she added. The families expressed their gratitude to the firefighters, U.S. Forest Service and others who tried to save the cabins.
"We hope that we will be able to come together as a family to continue this amazing tradition and continue making memories on this beautiful mountain," she said.
Several more homes and structures are still threatened, but firefighters hope to gain ground with the help of monsoonal moisture.
The human-caused fire has now burned 8,646 acres since it started Sunday afternoon. Some of the fire activity slowed down Wednesday evening, as 0.20 inches of rain fell by Monroe Mountain. "Favorable" conditions have remained in place on Thursday, but the fire remains 0% contained, Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team officials said.
Fire activity has "moderated" a bit as compared to when it started, Mike Bertangollio, planning operations specialist for the team, said in a video posted online.
Still, nearly 400 personnel are assigned to battle the fire. Structure protection within the Magelby, Manning Meadows and Monroe Meadows areas is still the "highest priority," but crews are also working on containment lines to help contain the fire, officials wrote in an update.
That's on top of scouting out other areas that could be at risk next, such as the Deep Lake and Big Lake areas.
"The rain settled us down a little bit, but there's a ton of work in there," Bertangollio said, adding that crews are working to do as much as they can before hotter and drier weather is forecast to return by early next week.
Investigators are also trying to figure out how the fire started and who started it. U.S. Forest Service officials called on the public's help identifying an ATV driver who was seen in the canyon about the time the fire began, but authorities say they've since ruled out that initial person of interest.
Contributing: Garna Mejia
