Over 500 people evacuated the Henefer area because of the Rocky Canyon Fire burning in the mountains above the town’s Main Street.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire is about a quarter contained and mapped at over 15,600 acres.
In response, two Utah chapters of the Red Cross set up a shelter in a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meeting house in Coalville to provide beds, food and water to anyone in need.
It closed on Wednesday, although volunteers remain on call.
“We’ve seen no traffic come through,” Salt Lake shelter coordinator Lynn Hurst said in an interview with KPCW. “We were kind of hoping, but we also heard, you know, there were a lot of people in Henefer who they basically crossed that border and stayed.”
Summit County Emergency Manager Kathryn McMullin said the lack of shelter users shows the community stepping up to the plate.
“You’re doing such a great job of taking care of each other that we had our Red Cross volunteers all day over at the Coalville church, and they didn’t see anyone,” McMullin said during a Henefer community meeting Aug. 11. “Which makes me sad for them but really impressed with you guys as a community taking care of each other.”
Hurst said he also was involved in the Red Cross effort in Beaver County during the Cottonwood Fire. He says no one visited that shelter either.
“Utah is one of those states that is very hearty,” Hurst said. “The idea of OK, all right, fine. I’ve got to sleep on a hay bale for a night. They think of it as a commonplace.”
The Red Cross also partnered with the nondenominational Summit 419 Church in Coalville. A spokesperson says it provides referrals to community members and connections to organizations with resources.
Hurst and the other Red Cross volunteers are now “on call” in case of emergency. The organization can be reached at 1-800-RedCross.
