Couple describes escaping fire that destroyed several mobile homes in Moab
Jun 7, 2022, 7:26 AM | Updated: 10:50 am
MOAB, Utah — A family displaced by a mobile home park fire in Moab is recounting the moments they had to rush out of their house and watch the blaze burn down everything they own.
The fire broke out Sunday in the Pack Creek Mobile Home Park, burning down six mobile homes and damaging four more, according to the Moab Valley Fire Department.
Monday evening, families still couldn’t get back to their homes to see if anything was salvageable. Roadblocks covered each of the two neighborhood entrances, with law enforcement standing by inside.
Six mobile homes destroyed in Moab fire, no injuries reported
Moab Valley Fire responded back out to the park more than a day later after smoke kicked back up in front of one of the homes. They hosed down a smoldering cushion.
Across the street, Erin and Jerry Wilson stood with their daughter and daughter’s boyfriend. One of their three dogs began to whine.
“They definitely don’t understand what’s going on,” Jerry said, of their pups.
He recounted how he had just come inside Sunday afternoon and was sitting down when he and Erin began to smell smoke.
“He’s all yelling, ‘Fire!’ and we ran out the door and he had no shoes on, no nothing,” Erin recounted.
Once outside, they could see a blaze burning and their neighbor was screaming.
“My mother-in-law’s backyard was on fire, part of our trailer was on fire and we got that out,” Erin said, getting choked up as she spoke. “And he went around the front side of our trailer, and that’s when everything started going.”
Erin and Jerry ran back inside to grab their dogs and cats, and their daughter’s pets. But it was too late to try to round them all up.
“I didn’t get to save all my animals,” Jerry said. “I actually pulled her out of a burning room while she was trying to save animals.”
“We lost everything,” Erin said.
Their daughter’s bearded dragons as well as some of their cats died.
Jerry started to fight the flames until firefighters arrived, while Erin watched the blaze tear through several mobile homes, burning down six in total and damaging four more.
Their place is a total loss, and they said their late mother-in-law’s trailer is mostly gone as well.
The Wilsons explained they have been fixing up their late mother-in-law’s mobile home over the past couple of years with plans to move into it.
Their daughter and daughter’s boyfriend live with them, and they described how many of their neighbors displaced also have kids in the home.
Moab Valley Fire said Monday they are still investigating how the fire started.
The only thing the Wilsons described seeing was that it looked like the fire started on the other side of their fence, in their neighbor’s yard.
The Wilsons said they are staying at Erin’s workplace, which is a local hotel for the next week, but they have no idea where to go after that.
As they figure out what comes next and mourn over the pets they lost, they’re grateful the four of them are OK — along with their three dogs and one of their cats.
“I’m just glad to get my family out alive and what animals I could save,” Jerry said.
Faith leaders and local community organizations involved in the Grand County Faith-based Coalition are coming together to establish resources for the families and they have set up three ways to fundraise.
Faith leaders and local community organizations involved in the Grand County Faith-based Coalition are coming together to establish resources for the families and they have set up three ways to fundraise.*
ONLINE: Enter the amount you are giving under the “Local Church” heading in the blank designated for “Mobile Home Park Fire” and follow the prompts at the bottom of the page.
No funds are held for administration or management fees. All donations will be placed entirely to the stated need.
IN-PERSON: At the Moab branch of Zions Bank – tell them the donation is for the Moab Seventh-day Adventist Church fund for the Mobile Home Park fire victims.
BY MAIL:
Moab Seventh-day Adventist Church
4581 Spanish Valley Drive
Moab, UT 84532
Make checks payable to the Moab Seventh-day Adventist Church and WRITE “Mobile Home Park Fire Victims” in the memo line.
*KSL TV 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.
