Neola wildfire evacuees back home

FARM CREEK, Uintah County — Edson Gardner negotiated his truck over the red dirt road Wednesday, blackened by the wildfire that swept through here.

"This is hard to believe," he said.

Gardner fought back tears as he pulled up to his aging mother's home. There was nothing left except for what resembled some charred appliances and a couple of burned out cars.

His 67-year-old mother was too distraught to speak about her situation, but Gardner pledged to rebuild their home here. He talked about bringing up a trailer home for her to live in.

"I'm going to get her a place," he said, his voice choking.

The family had to evacuate with only a few minutes notice when the Neola North Fire erupted last week. Gardner said he loaded up his mother, his sister and her baby girl and got them out of there. This morning, they were allowed to return to what's left of their homes.

"That's where the flames was coming from," he said, motioning to a blackened ridgeline that swept down into the area, following a ditch.

The fire wiped out some homes, and spared others. Nearby is the field where it killed three men.

Overhead, helicopters continued to make water drops as the mountain continued to pump black smoke into the blue sky. The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team's strategy today includes using more air resources to hold the fire out of Whiterocks Canyon, keeping it from moving toward more homes.

The Neola North Fire has torched about 40,000 acres of land and destroyed 12 residences and 24 outbuildings since it started on Friday. More than 760 fire personnel have been assigned to battle the blaze, which has shifted away from homes and into the high timber of the Ashley National Forest. The fire is about 20 percent contained, incident managers said.

A firefighter was injured today when, authorities said, he suffered a chainsaw cut on his arm. He was taken by ambulance to a Roosevelt hospital to be treated for his injuries, which officials said were not considered life threatening.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com