Generations-old family ranch among the 150 structures destroyed by the Cottonwood Fire
Jun 30, 2026, 3:19 PM
One of the structures completely destroyed by the Cottonwood Fire burning near Beaver, Utah. (Photo: Jalene Austin)
(Photo: Jalene Austin)
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JUNCTION, Piute County — Families that lost properties to the Cottonwood Fire are getting their first look at what remains. In a canyon near Junction, the Anderson family mourned the loss of a ranch that has been in their family since the 1940s.
Andy Anderson got the call from the Piute County sheriff last week, telling him the fire had crested the mountain and was heading down the canyon toward their property. The prospects were not good.
One of the structures completely destroyed by the Cottonwood Fire burning near Beaver, Utah. (Photo: Jalene Austin)
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Anderson jumped in his truck and raced to the 11-acre property his family calls Cougar Ranch. He said about 30 firefighters were staged at the edge of his family’s land, and Anderson thought they could hold the line.
They couldn’t.
Anderson managed to load irreplaceable heirlooms into his truck from a building the family used as a small museum: his grandparents’ marriage certificate; a hand-drawn family tree; his grandmother’s apron and his grandfather’s saddle. His cousin drove from St. George and was able to pull out a backhoe and two four-wheelers before firefighters told him it was too dangerous to stay.
“BLM firefighters were up there and they gave up. They were overwhelmed. It was just too powerful — too strong,” Anderson said. “Eventually they all came down and said everything up there was consumed.”
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When he returned, the only things left standing were the cabins’ stone chimneys and the rock walls of their pavilion.
Before and after images of one of the structures completely destroyed by the Cottonwood Fire burning near Beaver, Utah. (Photo: Jalene Austin)
The Cottonwood Fire, which has burned nearly 93,000 acres across Beaver and Piute counties since June 22, swept down the canyon and consumed everything on the property — five cabins, two restrooms and two storage sheds. One of the cabins was the original homestead structure, built in the late 1800s.
“The things are replaceable,” Anderson said. “It’s the memories tied to those things that cause the sorrow and the grief.”
Over the decades, the extended Anderson family incorporated as the Cougar Ranch Corporation. Members hold shares, pay dues for upkeep and book stays through an online reservation site. However, every first weekend in August, the family gathered for a reunion — a tradition Anderson said dates back to his childhood in the late 1950s.
A sign on the property read: “If you’re lucky enough to be at the Cougar Ranch, you’re lucky enough.”
“We’re not a wealthy family, but that was our wealth right there,” Anderson said.
A tree that was completely destroyed by the Cottonwood Fire burning near Beaver, Utah. (Photo: Jalene Austin)
The family plans to rebuild, Anderson said, though he acknowledged he likely won’t see the canyon return to its former beauty in his lifetime.
“It takes so long for trees to grow back,” he said. “The place was just beautiful.”
One of Anderson’s cousins has set up a GoFundMe* to help the family rebuild.
Utah Fire Info reports the Cottonwood Fire has destroyed at least 150 structures and is only 4% contained.
*KSL NewsRadio does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
