Utah fire map updates Friday showed the Cottonwood Fire had grown to more than 70,000 acres near Beaver and remained at 0% containment. Residents at Eagle Point Resort, Merchant Valley, HiLo Estates and Arrowhead Summer Homes were under evacuation orders as Rocky Mountain Power de-energized lines and warned of an extended outage.
Spencer Cox said there is "a very good chance that this is already the most destructive fire in the state's history." The fire was first reported Monday afternoon, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved funding Tuesday after determining the fire was a major disaster that threatened more than 300 homes.
Beaver and Southern Utah
The Cottonwood Fire in Southern Utah has put a direct line between the map and the ground. By Friday, the blaze had spread fast enough to force a broader response around Beaver in Utah, where a Forest Service closure order went into effect at 12:01 p.m. Wednesday.
Cox said the state is dealing with dry conditions across a wide area, adding, "This is the first time that anyone can remember where the entire state — Northern Utah is as dry as Southern Utah, Eastern Utah is as dry as Western Utah. We're just seeing it on all corners."
Containment of the Cottonwood Fire
Containment of the Cottonwood Fire remained at 0% on Friday, and officials expected that level to hold for several days because the terrain is so challenging. That leaves crews trying to slow a fire that has already crossed the 70,000-acre mark while residents in the evacuation zones wait for the next change in conditions.
Cox warned those under orders not to wait. "If you're told to evacuate, don't screw around this year. … We've seen [fires] move a mile or two in five, 10 minutes," he said. For people in the named communities, the immediate priority is to leave when told and prepare for the outage Rocky Mountain Power said could last longer than the first shutdown.
