- Firefighters stopped the human-caused Iron Fire from destroying homes in Eureka.
- Evacuees may need to wait 48 hours before returning, pending fire containment.
- Residents expressed gratitude to firefighters and concerns about property and communication.
EUREKA, Juab County — Firefighters were able to stop a raging human-caused fire from burning down houses in Eureka after the blaze ignited on Friday.
Toby Weed with Utah Fire Info spoke with KSL about how close the Iron Fire came to houses as it eventually grew to 24,284 acres on Monday.
"The fire came to the back doorstep of some of the structures, some of the houses," Weed said. "Not last night, but the night before, firefighters were right up on people's back steps." While no homes were destroyed, Weed said flames spread quickly due to plant life, or fuel in the area.
"It's super hot and dry," he said. "So the fuels, or the ... vegetation, is pretty volatile and able to catch fire, and when it does, the fire spreads really rapidly."
Weed said crews were concerned about a wind shift on Monday afternoon or evening.
"Yeah, it's definitely hopeful," he told KSL. "The fire came up to the edge of town, and they were able to stop it before it impacted any structures, so it's looking really good. There's still quite a bit of heat up on the hill, though, and there's some potential, so we're not out of the woods, by any means."
During the meeting, firefighters expressed concern about a possible scenario in which the fire could wrap around and attack the town again.
"With a wind shift, what could happen is if the wind starts coming out of the north, it could jump the road and then hook back around and come up from the south," said Brad Mihelic, operations section chief with Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 3. "We're going to need a little bit more time in here, get some more lines in place, again double-checking Eureka, making sure nothing crazy is happening there."
'We want you back home'
During a question-and-answer period, several people asked about the timeline for returning home to Eureka, after they were evacuated Saturday. Two emergency shelters were set up for evacuees at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouses.
The first shelter was located in Elberta at 15456 S. 12800 West Street, and the other at 75 S. Center in Goshen.
Todd Murray, incident commander with Great Basin Team 3, said the matter of ongoing evacuations was expected to be discussed again Wednesday — Monday's conditions pushed back the timetable.
"Based on today's operation, the activity we saw, I would push it out at least 48 hours, maybe a little more," Murray said. "That's why I want at least one additional, full operational period for my folks on the ground to do what they can to implement their plan, and that's why we're meeting Wednesday, so I'm hoping 48, but don't hold me to it."
Juab County Interim Sheriff Travis Kenison said deputies were working to protect property and he was empathetic with the plight of evacuees.
"I know it's hard for you guys to leave your homes," Kenison said. "It was rough on us to try to get you guys to leave, but rest assured we want you back home. We'll fight for you to get back home. We want it to be safe for you to return home."
'Save our homes'
Evacuees described an uncertain Saturday that ended in harrowing fashion.
"With smoke coming over the hill, we just kind of had that ominous feeling we're going to have to leave at some point," said Hailey Farnsworth. "We didn't get that, kind of, immediate call until I would say about 6 on Saturday evening, and at that point we had literally minutes to grab whatever we could and if it wasn't already in the car, it got left."
Farnsworth said she and her husband didn't have anywhere to go, but her family had a camp trailer where the couple could stay in the interim. She said communication from authorities could have been better to date and she was concerned about her property.
"Letting us as residents allow us to be able to have an eye on our things and in person would ease a lot of the stress of the unknown," Farnsworth said.
Resident Dennis Wahlberg said he had been worried about his 17-year-old cat and two little kittens. He said he had a rough time sleeping since he had been evacuated.
"I'm more hopeful," he said after attending the meeting, adding that an officer let him up to Eureka to retrieve his medications.
"I give thanks for the firemen for saving our home — I was really worried about that," Wahlberg said. "I don't have any insurance on the house. I'm on a fixed income and it went over $100 in one year to $320 a month, and I could not afford that. So I would have just been (out of luck)."
Another woman was met with loud applause when she stood up near the end of the meeting and offered her appreciation to firefighters.
"I would like to thank each and every one of you guys and everyone involved for helping us get out safe and save our homes," she said. "So, thank you."
