In all, 16 record-low minimum and 16 record-low maximum temperatures were set or met. For example, Delta and Randolph, the coldest places in Utah Sunday, dipped to minus 24 degrees, while Richfield and Duchesne never made it past 9 degrees.

In the tiny town of Virgin, in the southwest corner of the state, a man apparently trying to stay warm died when his wood-burning stove set his bedding ablaze.

Firefighters dispatched around 5 a.m. to 150 S. Matthews Lane found a mobile home fully engulfed, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The victim was found inside after the fire was extinguished.

"The homeowner only had one source of heat to the home, a wood-burning stove," said state fire marshal investigator Todd Hohbein. "We've had extremely cold weather up here, and it looks like he had the couch and a little sleeping mat pulled right up to the stove. It caught the material on fire."

The man, whose name was not released, apparently tried to escape, but he was overcome by smoke, Hohbein said.

Hohbein estimated temperatures in Virgin may have dipped to 12 degrees.

In St. George, 45 people sought refuge from the cold at the Dixie Care and Share and the shelter was at capacity.

"We're having to turn people away," said staff supervisor Henry Beach.

Those people are given sleeping bags, or a coat, hat and gloves to help insulate them from cold temperatures that plunged to 16 degrees early Sunday, he said.

Yet 50 miles to the north in Cedar City, where a new record low of minus 19 degrees was set Sunday, the Iron County Care and Share had 10 men and two women staying at the facility and room for four more.

Homeless people in northern Utah also were able to find warm food, clothing and shelter at rescue missions in Salt Lake City and Ogden.

Community advocate Pamela Atkinson said the shelters in the capital city were filling, with many people being bused to an overflow shelter in Midvale. Cold weather necessities such as hats, scarves, blankets and sub-zero sleeping bags have been passed out to those in need - many from the trunk of Atkinson's car.

Shelters in Salt Lake City that normally clear out during the day are staying open to keep the homeless from the cold. At night, there is no indoor space that is sacred, as those in need of shelter line up along the hallways and double-up in rooms.

"If necessary, we'll have people sleeping in the lobby. Wherever you can put someone," Atkinson said.

Walter Smith, house manager at the Ogden Rescue Mission, said his organization has been able to accommodate the increased population, but is struggling to find enough blankets and warm clothing such as gloves, coats and hats.

The shelter has also extended its hours during the cold spell, he said.

Even some areas one might think would appreciate the cold were stymied.

The frigid air is bad for business at Beaver Mountain ski resort in northern Utah, according to ticket agent Annette West, who reported a high of 11 degrees on the hill Sunday morning.

"Our numbers are down and I'm sure it's the cold," she said. "Usually this is one of our biggest weekends of the year."

About 1,700 residents in Iron County, including those in Parowan, Paragonah and Brian Head, lost power when a pair of transmission lines went down just before 7 a.m. Sunday, prompting Parowan firefighters to check on elderly residents, including those at the Iron County Rest Home.

If power stayed down, the firefighters were prepared to transfer the 27 residents of the rest home to a care facility in Cedar City, 15 miles away, Fire Chief Albert Orton said.

Power was restored to all customers by 4:17 p.m., said Margaret Oler, a spokeswoman for Rocky Mountain Power.

Becky Bentley, the nurse on duty at the rest home, said late Sunday afternoon the facility was again warming up.

"We're doing OK," she said. "We just bundled up in blankets and waited [the outage] out."

The deep-freeze is expected to last for several days, according to Pete Wilensky, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City.

Wilensky predicted a rise in the barometric pressure will create inversions and possibly haze and fog on the valley floors later this week.

"It's a deeply cold air mass," Wilensky said. "We will have single-digits lows for the next few nights with below zero temperatures."

Wellsville resident Duane Roundy said he's no weatherman, but he started his hobby as a weather observer in 1980 to help Mark Eubank, the meteorologist at Channel 2 News at the time.

Roundy continues to record the highs, lows and barometric pressure from in his backyard weather station and reports it to the local newspaper each day.

"You just get through it," Roundy said of the current cold front. "What I like about the weather is it's always changing."

abrunson@sltrib.com

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* Tribune reporters MARK HAVNES and MICHAEL WESTLEY contributed to this report.