News for
July 1, 2026

 

By Myrna Trauntvein
TN Correspondent

The Iron and Cherry Fires burning near Eureka reached a combined total of approximately 71,000 acres by Sunday afternoon.

The Cherry Fire ignited Friday morning and burned 30,766 acres within 24 hours. The fire forced immediate evacuations for Eureka, Mammoth and Silver City, as well as Chimney Rock Pass, Lofgreen and its surrounding areas.

The Cherry Fire forced evacuations with some residents already packed due to the Iron Fire. The fire has grown to 34,248 acres and remains 0 percent contained. This wildfire is lightning-caused.

These towns were forced to flee--again--when the new fire exploded near the still-burning Iron Fire. The Iron and Cherry fires have now burned more than 71,000 acres combined.

“The Cherry Fire made a significant run Friday, extending approximately 11 miles from south to north in only a few hours,” Utah Fire Info officials said.

Combined, as of early Sunday, their acreage amounted to more than twice the size of San Francisco proper.

After the fast-moving Iron Fire southwest of Utah Lake forced Eureka residents to pack up and leave their homes June 20, they were overjoyed to return Thursday.

Residents of the Juab County towns were once again ordered to evacuate late Friday as the new blaze — later named the Cherry Fire — ignited Friday and quickly ballooned to about 30,000 acres overnight. Evacuees were allowed home one day and then evacuated once again the next day.

The Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 3 is managing both the Iron and Cherry Fires.

Residents of Eureka, Mammoth, and Silver City evacuated due to the Iron Fire were able to return home at noon on Sunday, June 28, according to the Juab County Sheriff’s Office. However, residents returning to their homes will be on “Set” status, meaning they should be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

According to Utah Fire Info, several campsites were impacted and crews worked to evacuate campgrounds and RVs.

As of Sunday, Highway 6 was open, officials said. Highway 36 south of Vernon, Old Highway 148 in Juab County, and Chimney Rock Pass Road in Utah County reportedly remained closed.

Toby Weed with Great Basin Incident Management said that this, along with more favorable weather conditions, paints a light at the end of the tunnel.

“It’s maybe 20 or 30 degrees cooler than it was yesterday here, and there is much more moisture,” he said. “We’re already starting to ramp down our presence here, and firefighters are starting to get sent to other fires. There’s hundreds of fires in this area right now and literally thousands of people fighting them. This is going to be a long summer.”

“Things are looking really good on the Iron Fire,” said Brad Mihelic early Sunday. The operations section chief serves on Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 3, which is managing the Iron and Cherry fire responses.

“We’ve been wind-tested twice over the last two days now,” Mihelic said, “and everything has remained within our containment lines, so we’re feeling really comfortable with this.”

The Iron Fire, burning northwest of Eureka, has burned 40,881 acres and is now 57 percent contained. Fire officials said the blaze has remained within established control lines despite several days of strong winds and critical fire weather. A containment figure marks the percentage of a fire’s perimeter where crews feel confident flames won’t cross.

Crews will continue securing remaining sections of containment line and searching for lingering hot spots. Some personnel and equipment are being reassigned to support operations on the Cherry Fire while maintaining a strong presence on the Iron Fire.

Firefighters are using dozers, engines, hand crews, and aircraft to strengthen containment lines and protect homes and infrastructure.

Officials said the improved weather conditions should help moderate fire behavior and provide firefighters with a better opportunity to make progress, though pockets of active fire remain possible in areas with residual heat.

A Temporary Flight Restriction remains in place over both fires, and officials reminded the public to keep drones out of the area because they can interfere with firefighting aircraft.

Although evacuation orders were lifted for Eureka, Mammoth, and Silver City on Sunday, residents should continue following directions from local law enforcement. All three towns remained in “set” status (on a “ready, set, go” scale), reserved for “extreme threat.”

“Set” status asks residents to monitor fire conditions and official updates, check on neighbors, load supplies into vehicles and be ready to evacuate if ordered.

Hundreds of residents in Eureka returned home Thursday, grateful at the effort local firefighters and first responders made at saving their homes.

“You thought you were relaxed before but now it’s like, okay, it is as good as they said it was, and I’m home and everything’s fine,” said Nick Castleton, a former mayor.

The fires came a day after Eureka residents were able to return home following the fight on Iron Fire.

By the end of Sunday, Mihelic expected the Iron Fire response to shift into “patrol status,” which still requires some resources to monitor flames but otherwise frees most crews up to work on the Cherry Fire, which was 0% contained.

“Overall, really, the main threats we were worried about were the infrastructure and the scattered ranches just north, on Highway 36, we’re feeling really good about those areas,” Mihelic said Sunday afternoon.

“Most fire activity remained well inside the existing perimeter, with isolated smoke, torching, and burning in interior juniper pockets. Crews continued to close containment gaps, and strengthen the firemen.”