The Cottonwood Fire tore through Eagle Point Resort in Southern Utah yesterday evening, causing extensive damage. The human-caused fire ignited Monday and spread rapidly to more than 60,000 acres. Eagle Point was evacuated Monday evening and no injuries have been reported. “We are incredibly grateful for the firefighters and first responders who are working tirelessly to protect our community,” said Eagle Point owner Shane Gadbaw. “Conditions at the resort remain dangerous, and we are monitoring the situation closely,” he continued. “There has been significant property loss for local owners and the resort. Eagle Point will be closed for considerable time to recover from the catastrophe.” Gadbaw promised to share a more detailed update once employees return to the mountain.
As of this afternoon, infrared mapping on Watch Duty showed the fire burning 61,138 acres including a majority of Eagle Point’s terrain. All but one of Eagle Point’s five lifts were potentially affected and a photo circulating on social media showed the Canyonside Lodge engulfed in flames. Note that infrared fire perimeters are preliminary and do not necessarily reflect structure protection efforts by firefighters.
Eagle Point unfortunately becomes the latest on a list of resorts impacted by wildland fire in recent years. In 2007, a wildfire destroyed both lifts at Trinity Mountain, California, and the resort never reopend. In June 2012, a large fire burned sections of Ski Apache, New Mexico. Three lifts were destroyed and the tribe that owns the mountain hired Doppelmayr to replace them that fall at a cost of $15 million. Back in California, the Caldor Fire burned through Sierra-at-Tahoe in August 2021, damaging numerous lifts and buildings. Sierra managed to repair all lifts but missed an entire season and reopened in December 2022. The 2024 Bridge Fire burned part of Mountain High, California, damaging several lifts.
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Thanks for the story, Peter. Many don’t realize just what a nice little gem Eagle Point is, especially during the good snow years. The fire is now close to 70,000 acres as of last night (Wednesday night) and 0 containment. Seeing lots of posts on facebook from folks who had homes and cabins up there as well. This thing really hit hard and grew fast. Utah is also dealing with several other fires too.
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Just on GoogleMaps, I counted 18 fires across Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. I’m not sure how often forest or brush fires are in the rockies, but this seems like a lot considering how dry and hot it has been throughout the ski season. It is a very unfortunate situation.
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Horrible news. Eagle Point is a great little resort. And the forest area around there is/was great too
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Eagle Point posted on Facebook a little while ago a few pictures that show the top of Monarch chair lift, the Skyline lodge, and the Studio Cabins which have made it. These are all in the area just north of the fire area shown on the map in the post.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DRPGCPAWB/
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Here’s the latest as of 5 min ago.
Highlights:
Damaged areas and property:
– Approximately 300 of the resort’s 600 acres of ski terrain were impacted on the south
side of the mountain, primarily along Tushar Ridge (the “Steeps”)
– Canyonside Lodge, one of two day lodges, along with more than 100 condos and 30
cabins, were lost in the fire
– 4 of our 5 chairlifts sustained damage, though the full extent is still being determined
– The Warming Station on Tushar Ridge did not survive the fire
– Additional losses include 5 snowmobiles, 3 vehicles, and 3 storage containers containing
tools
Areas and infrastructure that remain intact:
– Skyline Lodge, our main on-mountain facility
– Monarch lift on the north side of the resort and surrounding terrain
– Skyline terrain (minimal impact)
– Aspen Crest subdivision is mostly intact, with minimal tree damage
– Snowmaking pond and equipment
– Cell phone and internet towers
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BQwcYaMtT/
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