Cottonwood Fire explodes to 24,000 acres, 0% contained

By: Scott McKane , Jeff Tavss

BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — After exploding in size in just hours, the Cottonwood Fire burning near Beaver slowed overnight, but "extreme fire behavior" resumed Tuesday, and helped the fire double in size.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the fire has burned over 24,000 acres and 0% contained, while all evacuation orders are still in effect, and its cause is still undetermined.

"The lack of moisture recovery prevented the fire from moderating overnight," officials said in a release.

The Beaver County Sheriff's Office said the extent of any damage, if any, to cabins, trailers, and vehicles is not yet known.

The Cottonwood Fire was discovered at 3:36 p.m. after sparking near milepost 5 on State Route 153, then spread to Beaver Mountain almost directly east of the town. It quickly grew to 10,000 acres by 10:45 p.m., according to Utah Fire Info.

Beaver County Emergency Management said evacuations were ordered for people in the HiLo area east of the city, Arrowhead Summer Homes, Merchant Valley, and Eagle Point.

SR-153 is closed in both directions between mileposts 2 and 25.

In addition, Beaver City announced that the public is not allowed to use the pressurized irrigation system until further notice, because firefighting crews will be taking water from the pressurized irrigation pond.

“This is probably the worst I’ve seen since I’ve been down here," said Beaver resident David Long. "We get some pretty good fires down here and we do prescribed burns from year to year, but this one has really taken off."