‘It went completely dark:’ Eureka residents describe Iron Fire evacuation
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- A sign showing support for firefighters battling the Iron Fire is shown Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Genola.
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- The Iron Fire is shown Saturday, June 20, 2026, near Eureka.
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- A sign showing support for firefighters battling the Iron Fire is shown Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Genola.
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- The Iron Fire is seen Tuesday, June 23, 2026, from Genola.
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- A shelter at a Latter-day Saints chapel in Elberta is shown.
A photo taken by Bree Skinner timed-stamped at 7:44 p.m. Saturday night showed the Iron Fire looming on the hillside, flames visible but the sky still blue above.
She said her next shot at 7:48 p.m. showed a completely different picture.
“It went completely dark, it was raining ash,” Skinner said. “The entire mountain line was a wall of fire and it just came up and over.”
Eureka residents staying at a Latter-day Saints chapel in Elberta shared Tuesday the harrowing details of the town’s evacuation due to the Iron Fire — firsthand accounts of how the erratic winds pushed the blaze dangerously close to homes — and the “absolute miracle” that every house in town remained intact.
Just before 6 p.m., approximately 20 hours after the wildfire started in Juab County on Friday night, the flames reached two miles from town, prompting authorities to place residents on “ready” status.
The “set” order came at 7:47 p.m., and the alarm “go” order came at 8:08, according to Skinner. Around the same timeframe, Gary Skinner said the winds suddenly pushed the fire down the hill just as fast as it was going up it. Bree Skinner called it an “unreal” shift that created a chaotic scene.
“We had cop cars everywhere. People were screaming, sirens were going — they were trying to get everybody out,” she said.
Among the evacuees were Roy and Debbie Stevens, who said they could hear the rumble of the flames as they got in the car to leave.
“I’ll never forget that sound,” Debbie Stevens said.
Mike Curtis said he was probably in the last group to leave town and estimated the flames were 200 feet high as they came near the town’s water tank.
“I was thinking when I got back up there I wasn’t going to have a house,” Curtis said. “The flames were so big and everything. I thought there was no way they could put that out.”
Yet when Sunday morning came, reports from firefighters said every primary structure in the town had remained intact. Authorities said firefighters engaged in a successful backburn operation on the town’s north side overnight. The effort included retired and volunteer firefighters who knew the town well and how best to protect, according to Bree Skinner.
Residents felt astonishment and gratitude toward first responders who managed to keep their homes from burning.
“I am so proud of them,” a woman named Pat said.
“I have no idea how they even dared,” Bree Skinner said. “That’s all we keep saying, is there is no way to even begin to show appreciation for those that stood in between, because they saved everything. Everybody has a home to go to currently.”
The fire remained a serious threat on Tuesday, stretching 31,314 acres with just 9% containment. Operations Section Chief Brad Mihelic said Tuesday morning the weather was primed for rapid fire growth. But he added things were looking good in Eureka, and people are optimistic they can return to their homes soon.
In the meantime, some are at the chapel in Elberta, receiving support from the Red Cross and Utah and Juab County resources. Residents said a number of people have supported the community and made them feel better about the situation.
“They care,” Debbie Stevens said about the Red Cross. “That’s what we appreciate.”
Bree Skinner said a “rebel” offered the community relief by sneaking past the closed U.S. 6 Sunday to take a video of the fire line and the unharmed properties. Bree and Gary Skinner also expressed their gratitude to Eureka Mayor Robert Jenkins, who they said has gone above and beyond to put people at ease.
“He’s gone in and fed cats,” Bree Skinner said. “He has fed the animals that people can’t get back to.”
Eureka, a historic mining town with around 600 residents, is a place where families have lived for generations. Community members are grateful it was preserved.
“It’s so much history that it’s scary to have (the wildfire) that close,” Pat said. “My grandma lived up there, my mom lived up there, and now I’m up there. It was scary. I’d hate to see it all go because Eureka is very cool.”
“Every firefighter has come down and said, there has to have been something up there protecting that town, protecting the people, because we shouldn’t have a home to go home to,” Bree Skinner said.
