Wildfire evacuees — some separated from pets — wait for chance to return home
By Caroleina HaCaroleina Hassettssett
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EUREKA, Utah (KSTU) — Evacuees from the town of Eureka in Juab County are facing a tough reality: the uncertainty of not knowing when they’ll be able to get back into their homes, and some also hoping their four-legged friends will be waiting for them when they come back.
“First in the morning we just see the smoke, you know, and it’s over behind the mountains from Eureka, and then getting close to the evening, the flames [were]up on that big beacon hill, and I was getting kind of worried then,” said Dennis Wahlberg, a Eureka resident.
The Iron Fire — estimated at 24,284 acres — unfortunately reached the town of Eureka, causing mass evacuations Saturday night.
“On my way back on the way back from Provo, I hear on the radio the evacuation notice…. I don’t get back, she’s won’t get out,” said David Thorsted, a Eureka resident.
Thorsted was trying to get back to his wife who was at home, along with eight other members of their family.
“Scary for me, because I can’t get in touch with my loved ones up there, and in a way, you know, I felt responsible because I went to the store. I shouldn’t have ever left,” Thorsted said.
Despite being able to see the flames from their window, he was able to reunite with his wife Victoria at the evacuation site, with the dogs by her side.
“When my wife finally left it was so abruptly that they wouldn’t even let her turn the water off…. I knew she wouldn’t leave without all her babies,” Thorsted said.
However, one evacuee didn’t get as lucky with his animals.
“The firemen came in, got three of them, and helped me chase the kittens around. We’ve got four of them, and they could only catch two of them, and my big 17-year-old cat, we couldn’t catch him either, so hopefully they’re okay,” Wahlberg said.
The Red Cross assisted evacuees all throughout the night, even getting the Thorsteds a place to stay.
“They said they had a trailer that we could stay in… there’s not many people who can take on strangers and eight dogs,” Thorsted said.
The community came together on Sunday, a day that centers around family.
“It’s Father’s Day today, and I paused for a moment. I’m looking around, and I’m seeing many fathers that were here, away from their own families that weren’t displaced, but were here wanting to help,” said Benjamin Donner with the American Red Cross.
And during a terrifying situation, family is all Thorsted needed.
“There’s nothing up there that can’t be replaced,” Thorsted said.
Families will still not be able to get back into their homes Sunday night. If people need assistance, especially with their pets, they can come to the LDS Church where the Red Cross is assisting. Officials are hoping to let evacuees back into their homes sometime tomorrow but need to see how the fire does overnight.
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