Beaver residents ‘left in limbo,’ can’t assess home damage until SR-153 reopens
Jul 23, 2026, 1:44 PM
Charred remains of houses and vehicles in Eagle Point Resort’s West Village outside of Beaver, Tuesday, after the Cottonwood Fire torched much of the area. Federal permitting is slowing down fire mitigation efforts, an expert said. (Photo: Steve Mayer)
(Photo: Steve Mayer)
BEAVER — A Beaver resident said he and his neighbors are in limbo after the Cottonwood Fire and subsequent flash flooding damaged the road through Beaver Canyon, causing a road closure.
Steve Mayer said he’s unsure when he can go home to assess damage left by the fire, which began June 22. Mayer’s cabin caught fire but didn’t completely burn to the ground unlike some of his friends and neighbors who lost everything.
Shane and Kini Gadbaw, Eagle Point Ski Resort owners, embrace as they listen to an interview with a Fish Lake National Forest agency administrator at Eagle Point Ski Resort in Beaver County on Thursday, July 9, 2026. The Cottonwood Fire damaged much of the resort. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
The Utah Department of Transportation closed state Route 153 through Beaver Canyon on July 21, citing severely damaged roadway that, in some cases, was completely washed away during flash flooding that began on July 19.
Image of Route 153 after flooding and debris flow caused UDOT to close the road through Beaver Canyon indefinitely. (UDOT)
With the indefinite road closure, residents can only wait to hear when they can safely enter the canyon and begin the process of rebuilding.
Related: Why some Utah wildfires stay listed as ’cause unknown’ for weeks or months
“This just puts a big wrench into all the planning. We don’t really know when we’re going to get a full assessment,” he said.
Road closure isn’t only delay after Cottonwood Fire
Mayer said that he and his neighbors were hoping to start rebuilding by this fall, but factors even beyond the road closure are also working against them. The process starts by talking to insurance companies, which need answers that nobody yet has.
Boulders and mud cover a section of state Route 153 in Beaver Canyon. Utah Department of Transportation officials said Tuesday that the canyon route is closed indefinitely because of flood damage. (Photo: Utah Department of Transportation)
Power companies said it could be 18 months before there is any power brought back to homes in the canyon.
The bright side
Despite the tragic circumstances and sudden displacements, Mayer said it’s been wonderful to see the community come together and offer support to one another. Mayer lives part of the time at his Eagle Point canyon home, and part of the time at his home in Cottonwood Heights, a suburb of Salt Lake City.
And Mayer isn’t just watching the neighborly support. This week he offered his home in Salt Lake City as a place to stay for his neighbors in Beaver who had nowhere to go.
He isn’t the only one to do so. He said the support from neighbor to neighbor has been immense.
