‘It was go time’: Camper speaks out about harrowing evacuation from Beulah fire

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — Riley Mackay was camping in the Uinta Mountains with his family when the Beulah Fire started. When they realized the fire was headed their way, his group had only a couple hours of warning to pack up and evacuate.

On Thursday, August 7th, a wildfire broke out in the Uinta Mountain range, quickly spreading to over 1400 acres and prompting evacuations of multiple camping ranges. Riley Mackay was camping near where the fire broke out with extended family when they learned they needed to evacuate immediately.

The camping area they frequent is incredibly remote, and Riley says his family travels over 30 miles of rocky, bumpy terrain, with trailers, horses, and extensive camping gear. But it’s reportedly well worth it, because Riley’s family have returned to this area to camp, fish, and ride horses and all-terrain vehicles for decades. Additionally, his great-great grandfather herded sheep in the area.

This year, though, their trip was interrupted by the Beulah wildfire. A couple days into their trip, Riley’s family woke up and saw large smoke clouds on the horizon. They quickly realized that something was wrong.

Riley told ABC4.com that one of his uncles has Starlink and was warned that a wildfire had started approximately 5-10 miles away from their campsite. He said, “We all kind of knew that it was probable that we should evacuate at some point, whether that was that day or the next day, but we kind of taking our time, just kind of feeling it out.”

Because of the terrain and remote environment, Riley says it takes about two and a half hours to get off of the mountain. Shortly after they received the first message, a forest ranger contacted Riley’s uncle via Starlink and warned them that the fire would reach their campsite in around two hours.

Riley said, “If it weren’t for that message, we would have stayed for sure. It was that moment that everything changed. And it was just go time.”

Evacuation

Riley told ABC4.com that his family immediately started packing up after learning how fast-growing and close the Beulah fire was to them. Riley said, “There was a moment where we thought that we would all have to either unhitch our trailers or leave our trailers and either just take the trucks or we even considered the possibility of having to just take four wheelers and leave. So, there was a lot of fear.”

After the fire started, a family friend was able to travel to their campsite from Evanston, Wyoming, on a dirt bike, which reportedly took approximately 15-20 minutes at full speed. That friend helped them pack up camp.

Riley also told ABC4 that some of his relatives had to evacuate from a fire in the area around twenty years ago. They did not have time to pack up and much of their stuff was lost in the wildfire. That story was fresh in his mind on Thursday. He said, “We’ve all kind of thought that that could possibly happen, but it became a big reality for us a couple of days ago. And so, it was a very terrifying moment.”

Reportedly, some of his family did not have time to pack up their belongings. His cousin’s family rode down the mountain on horse-back and is still unsure if their camping trailer survived.

Riley also had his wife and three young children with him, which he says was emotional, “As the parent, you’re supposed to act stoic and calm and there were moments where even myself and my wife were internally freaking out. You could just see the flames and the smoke just starting to come over us.”

Fortunately, Riley and his family were able to evacuate from their campsite and make it off the Uinta Mountain range. They also say this fire won’t deter them from future camping trips.

While the Beulah Fire may make this specific area inaccessible for camping in the near future, Riley says his family plans to continue their family tradition, “It may mean we have to camp in a different spot than where we normally camp. But, no, it’s never going to stop us from, you know, doing what we love.”