That rapidly moving fire claimed the lives of George Houston, 63; his son, 43-year-old Tracy Houston; and 75-year-old Roger Roberson. Tracy's son, 11-year-old Duane, survived the fire by running through thick smoke and by jumping two fences, including a barbed-wire fence, before a firefighter found him.

Sunday, members of the Houston family were escorted by Uintah County and fire officials to the area where the tragedy occurred for the first time so they could get a sense of what happened.

Before they left, Margie Houston, George's widow; JaLynn Houston, Tracy Houston's widow; and Duane shared memories with the Deseret Morning News of their loved ones, and recounted what happened that day.

Duane Houston said they had already purchased the hay and had actually started to drive back when they noticed Roberson trying to move his sprinkler system to prepare for what then looked like a manageable fire. The two men and young boy got out of their truck and went to help, but a sudden burst of wind made the fire explode over the hillside and pushed it straight toward them.

The wind was blowing hay into Duane's face so hard he could barely see, he said. As the fire got closer, his father told him to run toward the truck. Duane, however, became disoriented in the thick smoke and blowing hay and ran right past the truck but kept running "as fast as I could go," until he knew he was safe.

"It felt like a mile," he said.

Houston said he looked back a couple of times to see if the others were behind him but saw nothing.

"I don't think my dad would have left my grandpa," he said.

JaLynn Houston agreed that Tracy could have easily run as fast as Duane and gotten away from the fire but chose instead to stay with George, who suffered from back problems and was not able to move as fast.

The Houstons lived close together on a 65-acre piece of property called Houston Ranch in Neola. George took care of about 30 cattle on his ranch and 40 sheep. He had four children and 19 grandchildren. Tracy left behind five daughters and Duane, his only son. The daughters range in age from 11 to 19.

George Houston spent 41 years with the U.S. Forest Service and was very experienced around fires, said Margie. No one could have predicted how fast the fire "exploded," she said. If George and Tracy had known how much speed the fire would gain, "he would have been out of there. He would not have stayed."

By the time the first firefighters arrived, Margie Houston said the inferno was already past containment.

"They said it was out of control from the time they got there," she said.