The Deer Creek Fire swept through the La Sal Mountains in July with devastating force, destroying homes, damaging ranches and sparking a rare “firenado” with winds stronger than 120 mph.
The wildfire ignited July 10 near Old La Sal, eventually burning 17,724 acres in Utah and Colorado before crews declared it 100% contained on Aug. 11. At least 13 structures — including primary residences, cabins, a Forest Service guard station and a communications site — were damaged or destroyed.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office determined the fire was human-caused. Investigators have identified a suspect but have not released a name. As of Aug. 27, the sheriff’s office said it is working with the county attorney to file charges.
Weeks after the last flames were extinguished, residents and ranchers described what they lost — and how they plan to recover.
‘Every day I want to go home’
For Candy and Ken Kaighn, the fire destroyed their only home near Wolf Springs Ranch, where they had lived full time for the past two and a half years.
“Usually when you see a home that’s burned, you see pieces of wood or furniture that survived, but it was so hot that nothing survived,” Candy said. “It was a total loss. … Every day I want to go home, but I can’t.”
Their home was among those overtaken by the fire-induced tornado on July 12 — a rare “firenado” the National Weather Service later rated EF-2, indicating significant damage and estimated winds over 110 mph. Candy said fire crews had staged nearby and built barriers to protect the house, and for a time she thought they were in the clear. But when the firenado touched down, it tore through the property and reduced the house to ash within half an hour.
The Kaighns lost heirlooms, some wedding photos and jewelry, along with firearms, furniture and newly installed solar and generator systems. Among the irreplaceable items was an original family painting, recently reframed and hung in their home.
Insurance provided some immediate help, including funds that allowed the couple to cover temporary housing, but Candy said the process is far from resolved. She estimates their $70,000 solar system and other recent investments will not be covered, and it remains unclear whether insurance will pay the full cost of rebuilding. “We have a lot of questions we don’t have answers for yet,” she said.
For now, the couple is renting in Moab with their four dogs and two cats while neighbor and owner of Wolf Springs Ranch Brian Ballard, also a contractor, works on plans to rebuild. Despite the challenges, Ken said they never considered leaving the mountains.
“The reason we want to stay is we just love it up there,” he said. “It’s so quiet and serene. I love the outdoors, and I loved going up into the La Sal mountains.”
‘Everything was gone’
For Katrina Herman, the fire erased a cabin she had purchased only a year and a half ago, which had become both a vacation home and a budding Airbnb business.
On the morning of July 12, Herman said she received a call that firefighters had held the line and likely saved the cabins. A few hours later, she got another call notifying her the firenado had torn through the area, and her cabin was gone.
“It was quite the morning of emotional upheaval of the initial relief then the call that everything was gone,” she said.
Herman had invested everything she had into the cabin and had just started renting it out this spring after completing some remodeling. Insurance will cover some costs, but she is still in the early stages of the process.
Adjusters have asked her to gather bids to rebuild the cabin as it was — which she said would exceed $1 million for the structure alone, not including furnishings or personal belongings.
Beyond finances, Herman questioned whether rebuilding would even be feasible. She described the Hangdog Road area where her cabin once stood as “like the surface of the moon,” stripped bare of all vegetation. Some neighbors are undecided about returning, and she wonders whether tourists will want to stay in the scarred landscape.
“My heart says yes, of course I want to rebuild. I love that area,” she said. “But I have to be realistic about how I move forward at this point.”
Ranching losses stretch into millions
The fire devastated Redd Summit Ranches’ La Sal operation, part of a family cattle business that began in Utah more than a century ago and later expanded into Colorado and Nevada. Operations manager Ry Hart said the blaze wiped out fall grazing land, fencing and water supplies relied on by the ranch’s 1,200 mother cows.
“It took away our ability to graze our cows this fall, so we’re going to be feeding hay,” Hart said. “Probably this fall it’ll be $150,000 to $200,000 just in hay costs.”
He explained the fire consumed about 40 days of fall pasture on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management allotments. Because the burn area may remain closed to grazing for two to four years, Hart said the financial hit will extend far beyond 2025 and will be “at least a million dollars.”
“That’s not counting the number of cows that we won’t be able to run because of it,” he said. “It’s gonna hurt our bottom dollar, so it hurts and it kind of affects everything.”
Miles of fencing were destroyed, an expense Hart estimated at $300,000 to $400,000, possibly more. With creeks and water sources burned out, the ranch will also have to haul water to cattle — adding more strain.
The fire has already forced early weaning of calves, cutting weights by about 150 pounds each. At roughly $3 a pound, that’s a loss of hundreds of dollars per calf across more than 1,000 head.
“Financially, it’s going to be the hardest part,” Hart said. “This will affect us for three or four years before we can bounce back.”
The losses ripple beyond the ranch itself. Hart said Redd Summit will likely reduce its seasonal workforce and day labor, much of which usually comes from local cowboys. Hunting will also be affected, since reduced grazing options put more pressure on the remaining land.
Wolf Springs Ranch vows to reopen
At Wolf Springs Ranch, Ballard is working to rebuild an off-grid retreat that has hosted weddings and guests for 15 years.
The fire tore through the 12-building property, destroying two cabins, damaging several others and leaving smoke damage throughout. Two solar systems were also lost.
Ballard estimated his “hard costs” at more than $500,000 but less than $1 million — including rebuilding, repairs and solar — while “soft costs” from lost reservations and canceled events remain difficult to measure.
Despite the setback, he said he is determined to reopen by April 1, when the ranch typically begins its season after winter closure. Crews are already removing foundations, repainting, repairing patios and ordering new solar systems, among other work.
“We’re definitely going to stay in business,” he said. “We’re reseeding, replanting thousands of trees, putting in a better road system and water system. We want to make it better than it was.”
He credited firefighters with saving most of his cabins, and noted that patches of greenery also survived the blaze.
“My hat is off to the fire department … they really did a fantastic job. They’ve made it possible for us to be back.”
A ‘miracle cabin’ lost
Laura Harper of Provo said her family’s second home — a place she called their “miracle cabin” — was reduced to ash.
“It was truly a beloved place,” Harper said. “It was my cathedral in the sagebrush.”
The family had purchased the cabin in 2021 as a retreat. Neighbors had less than an hour to evacuate, and a few days later Harper learned her cabin had burned to its foundation due to the firenado.
She and her husband are insured but uncertain about rebuilding.
“Right now, the land is so devastated that it would be a very different experience to rebuild there,” she said. “We mourn the loss of a dream and a retreat but my heart really goes out to people who lost their actual residence. I never expected to be a victim of catastrophic loss to fire,” she said. “But here it is, and it’s hard.”
Recovery ahead
The Forest Service rescinded the Deer Creek Fire closure on Aug. 22, reopening the area. For residents and businesses, the path forward remains uncertain and will take years. Ballard said the firenado left destruction that still defies explanation.
“It’s just unreal,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything to learn — it makes no sense at all.”
Even so, he said his connection to the La Sal Mountains and the general area makes the decision clear: rebuild and move forward.
“It’s very much worthwhile to see the growth that’s going to be taking place by Mother Nature,” he said. “It’s a beautiful country and we have the most beautiful mountains. We’ll take it and make it better than it ever was.”
This story was first published by The Times-Independent.
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