The dangerous weather conditions forecasters warned about Friday sent the Cottonwood Fire racing across another 20,000 acres overnight into Saturday.

The blaze, as of early Sunday, had burned 93,607 acres near Beaver since igniting Monday, according to Great Basin Incident Management Team 5, which is leading firefighting efforts.

That places it at about 146 square miles, a bit bigger than the city of Philadelphia.

Fueled by strong winds and critically dry conditions, fire officials said the blaze remains 0% contained. A containment figure marks the percentage of a fire’s perimeter where crews feel confident flames won’t cross.

In a grim update late Friday, at the second public meeting in as many days, firefighters told residents gathered at Piute High School in Junction that crews couldn’t keep up with its explosive growth.

“This is my home,” said Nick Schenck, the Cottonwood Fire’s initial attack commander, with Great Basin Incident Management Team 5. “It moved way too fast for us to do anything. We did everything we absolutely could. We called for every bit of help we could find. And about all we could do was get people out of the way of this thing.”

Gov. Spencer Cox, on X, described Friday’s weather as “some of the worst fire conditions in our state’s history,” saying the dangerous winds grounded firefighting aircraft and pushed several fires beyond the reach of direct attack.

Southwest of Utah Lake, the separately burning Iron Fire, which ignited June 19 and previously forced Eureka residents to evacuate, has burned about 40,000 acres. That’s right alongside the newly burning Cherry Fire, which sparked Friday and quickly ballooned to about 30,000 acres.

The flames prompted evacuation orders late Friday for several nearby communities, including the town of Eureka again. By noon Sunday, residents of Eureka, Mammoth and Silver City were able to return home, according to Utah Fire Info, but they 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.

“More evacuations. More property destroyed. It’s as bleak as it’s ever been,” Cox wrote, “… and yet there were several miraculous stops and saves. More than 1000 firefighters are exhausted and working around the clock."

On Saturday, the forecast near the Cottonwood Fire was a bit more favorable, with cooler temperatures in the 80s expected, plus higher humidity levels, fire officials said. Along the ridgetops, temps dipped into the 60s.

That kept fire behavior overnight into Sunday relatively moderate. But officials warned extreme fire behavior could still develop as temperatures rise and winds pick up speed.

As a precaution, Rocky Mountain Power began shutting off electricity Friday morning in parts of Beaver, Cedar City and Milford to reduce the risk of additional wildfires. The public safety power shut-offs were lifted by Sunday afternoon.

As damage assessments continue, residents concerned about their homes or belongings can share their information with the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office to receive updates. Although the contact form is labeled as a witness statement, authorities said it’s being used to notify property owners once crews determine whether structures were damaged.

On Saturday, Piute County officials said law enforcement and fire crews early Sunday planned to escort some people up the City Creek side of the mountain to retrieve camp trailers.

For residents with livestock, the sheriff’s office said Kane County is offering temporary space for animals.

The American Red Cross of Utah on Friday said the Cottonwood Fire had destroyed at least 12 families’ primary homes. An emergency shelter was opened at the Utah National Guard’s Beaver Armory, 120 S. Main St. in Beaver.

More emergency shelters may open in Panguitch (if Junction or Circleville are evacuated) and Monroe (if Marysvale is evacuated), the Red Cross has said.

On Thursday, Cox announced that the state will restrict fireworks statewide over Independence Day weekend through an executive order, citing a particularly destructive start to this year’s wildfire season.

Fire officials planned to hold another public meeting on the Cottonwood Fire starting at 7 p.m. Monday at Beaver High School.