On the front desk of the Comfort Inn & Suites off I-15 in Beaver sits a paper sign that catches the eye.
“Thank you to the firefighters that are battling the Cottonwood Fire and all other fires throughout Utah,” it reads.
The hotel is one of many in Beaver housing exhausted firefighters working day and night to contain the fire that’s spread across more than 97,000 acres.
“We’re trying to do small things like the sign and trying to start our breakfast earlier for them,” Gracie Moya, Comfort Inn & Suites manager, told the Deseret News. Moya said they also have small “goodie bags” to give to firefighters as a token of appreciation.
“Just the little things to thank them for their job.”
Employees at the inn aren’t the only ones doing a little something extra to help as the Cottonwood Fire continues to rage in Beaver County. As firefighters work to douse the flames of the devastating fire, members of the Beaver community have rallied to support both the firefighters and each other in unique ways.
Though the fire is barely halfway contained, there’s hope for the future of this small town with a big heart.
Residents are ‘very proud’ of firefighters on duty
Firefighters working on the Cottonwood Fire continue to face long, hot and smoky days of work in their efforts to douse the fire’s flames — and it’s been that way since Day 1.
Kendall Nelson, agency administrator for Fish Lake National Forest, described the initial attack response to the fire as “nothing short of a modern-day miracle.”
“The fire 24 to 72 hours on this thing was an all-out firefight,” Nelson said, referring to the early days of the fire. The Cottonwood Fire spread rapidly, immediately after igniting, averaging a growth of 1,000 acres per hour during its first 24 hours.
Now, more than two weeks later, the work of firefighters on duty is still brutal.
“This work is hard work, it’s meticulous work,” Nelson said. “We’re in steep, rugged country. There’s lots of hazards out there, and so we are working aggressively on the containment on this fire, but first and foremost, our priority is to keep firefighters and the public safe.”
The fire is currently 60% contained, and Nelson said that in addition to containment, firefighters are working on suppression repair to minimize potential soil erosion, removal of vegetation, and stabilization treatments to prevent further damage to the land.
For the 26 crews assigned to the fire, the work is hard, but it doesn’t go unthanked.
“We’re very proud of the professional firefighters that came in and helped keep things at bay and save structures,” said Tanner Larsen, employee and resident of the Eagle Point Ski Resort, a Beaver resort severely impacted by the fire. “We’re very proud of them.”
Local and national businesses contributing to restoration efforts
National business are working with the The BIG (Beaver, Iron and Garfield counties) Chamber of Commerce to support Beaver fire officials and residents in need.
Owala donated water bottles to every local firefighter and search and rescue officer in the sheriff’s department in Beaver and Marysville. Kodiak donated granola and overnight oats for community use. Donors at Southern Utah University have provided two truckloads of food and drinks.
Many large donations are even made anonymously, according to Tara Tucker, executive director for the BIG Chamber of Commerce.
Local businesses are joining the effort too. The Creamery in Beaver is donating some of the proceeds from its new “Fiery Cheese Curds” to the Beaver City Fire Department to support wildfire response efforts.
“We had planned all year to launch a new spicy cheese curd on July 1 — our first new flavor in five years,“ Matt Robinson, general manager of the creamery and Beaver mayor, said in an announcement. “In the wake of the fire, our team saw an opportunity to turn that launch into something more meaningful by supporting the first responders who work tirelessly to protect our community during fire season.”
‘We feel like God has blessed us here’
Residents like Samantha Garcia, an Eagle Point Ski Resort employee and resident who lost her home and was left with next to nothing, are invited to donation centers to receive clothing, hygiene products and food.
“I got down the mountain that first day, I woke up and I’m like, ‘I only have the clothes on my back. What am I going to do?’” Garcia told the Deseret News.
Her town immediately stepped in, providing clothes, shoes, hygiene products and food.
“I lost all my things, but there’s just something so special about having this community,” Garcia said. “It really feels like my parents are here taking care of me.”
Larsen, who also lost his mountain home in the fire, said he too has received helped since the first day of the fire.
“Everybody’s looking after each other,” he said. “It’s a very religious community. We’re very thankful. We feel like God has blessed us here.”
Working with the State Bank of Southern Utah, the BIG Chamber of Commerce provided a displaced family with a mini RV to replace their lost home. Tucker said the family was given the trailer — a surprise gift complete with a big bow — on Friday during one of their shifts volunteering to support other affected families.
“It was a very emotional, very beautiful time,” Tucker told the Deseret News. “They now have their own thing to live in and they can start their life over.”
The future after the fire: ‘A lot of unknowns’
The Beaver community will feel the effects of the flames long after they are doused.
A valley town of about 3,000 people, the town relies heavily on tourism from travelers stopping along a road trip or visiting for outdoor fun. The fire is harming Beaver’s travel economy.
“We’re losing some business this way,” Tucker said. “We’re concerned about our hotels and the restaurants and, you know, the grocery store.”
Several events that usually bring guests from all over have been canceled due to fire danger, including the “Crusher in the Tushar” bike race, previously scheduled for July 11. Moya, the Comfort Inn & Suites manager, said many travelers have canceled their hotel reservations fearing the town would be completely evacuated.
Beaver residents face looming threats of flood and water pollution due to ash on the mountain as they prepare for life after the fire, and as fires continue to spark nationwide, resources to combat these threats will become more limited.
“Right now, there’s a lot of resources available for Utah, but as conditions get worse in other parts of the country, those resources get shared differently,” Chief Tom Schultz from the U.S. Forest Service told the Deseret News. “Right now Utah’s got a lot of resources. In the future, given how conditions play out elsewhere, those resources could vary.”
Sgt. Glen Woolsey from the Beaver County Sheriff’s office said he has seen the town recover from setbacks in the past.
“I actually have seen it,” Woolsey told the Deseret News. “Things will become good again.”
Yet he said there are still “a lot of unknowns right now.”
