Farm Creek fire evacuees can go home

NEOLA, Duchesne County — After days of not knowing what happened to his home in the canyons above this tiny eastern Utah town, Lewis Cooper will finally return home today.

"I was just so thrilled, but now I want to get up there and save my orchard, my garden, my flowers of all things," he said.

An evacuation order for the Farm Creek area has been lifted, letting residents along the Elk Horn Loop go home at 8 a.m.today. Firefighters made significant progress on the Neola North Fire, which has burned about 40,000 acres so far. Late Tuesday night, fire officials told the Deseret Morning News that the blaze was about 20 percent contained.

For folks who call themselves "Farm Creekers," the days have been filled with anxiety and uncertainty.

"My sister's house is on the ground," Mary Chivers sobbed as she recounted what happened to her family's homes in the area. "And our neighbors, they lost everything."

The Uintah County sheriff said that so far, 12 houses have been destroyed. Approximately 24 outbuildings and 12 vehicles also burned as the rapidly moving fire roared through this area. Fire officials said Tuesday that they do not believe any more structures are threatened.

The fire appeared to have moved over the mountain, into the high timberlands of the Ashley National Forest. Smoke could be seen churning up from the other side. More resources were being thrown at this fire, which officials estimate has cost about $2 million to $3 million to fight so far. About 767 fire personnel are working the Neola North Fire. Additionally, 100 Utah National Guard members have assisted with area road closures.

For firefighters, a lot of the trouble has been "spotting," where embers from the wildfire are blown.They land in dry grasses and brush and spark up.

"It's a full-on drought," firefighter Leevi Ahlvers said as he walked from a helicopter that shuttled him from a ridge where he was laying down a defense line.

Covered in dirt and sweat from a long, hard day's work, firefighters described steep terrain and extremely dry conditions on the fire's front lines.

"It's about a 70 percent slope. Rocky. It's nasty," Dennis Darling said. "We got lucky because the smoke cloud set over the sun, so it cooled things down for us."

The Neola North Fire could grow, with strong winds predicted to move into the Uinta Basin over the next few days. On Tuesday, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. toured the burned areas of the Neola North Fire by helicopter. He called it a "frightening sight."