SOUTH WILLOW CANYON, Tooele County, May 27, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A family cabin in South Willow Canyon caught fire on Saturday afternoon, and sustained about $100,000 in damages before fire crews could knock it down.
“The generator caught on fire and the rest was history,” said Richard Carver, a neighbor who tried to help cabin owner Scott Moon fight the fire. “The generator caught fire, the generator shed caught fire, and the whole cabin is gone. It’s been here 42 years.”
Moon and Carter tried to use garden hoses as their wives rushed to call 911.
“With a gas fire, it spreads real fast, and the water hoses wouldn’t do anything,” Carver said. “The fire department got here and took care of it.”
Grantsville Fire Department First Assistant Chief Rob Critchlow responded with about 14 other firefighters.
“When we arrived, we had heavy smoke coming out of the northeast side of the building,” Critchlow said. “It takes a little time to get up here. We did save most of the house, but there is a lot of fire damage to the house, probably $100,000.”
The cabin had undergone renovations over the years, and roofs built over roofs can hide pockets of fire.
“We’re pretty confident it’s out,” Critchlow told Gephardt Daily. “We’ve run the thermal imager through, and the ambient air has been dropping 20, 30 degrees every 10 minutes, so we feel pretty confident.”
Water hydrants are scarce in canyon areas, but Critchlow said that with help from the North Tooele County Fire District, there were enough water tenders, also known as water tankers.
“Water’s always an issue when you’re up here,” Critchlow said. “But we are in cooperation with North Tooele County, so we had two water tenders, two engines and one ambulance.”
Moon said the cabin holds a lot of memories, and he plans to rebuild.
“We’ve had a lot of family gatherings,” he said. “It’s only 45 minutes from home. It’s fun.”
