Home Care In Veyo, UT

| July 13, 2020, 7:57 p.m.

Parts of the Washington County community of Veyo remain under an evacuation order Tuesday morning, due to a wildfire that ignited near Veyo on Monday afternoon.

The flames spread quickly through dry brush and grass, consumed two outbuildings and threatened 800 homes, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Veyo West Fire was one of many blazes that broke out Monday across the state. The National Weather Service posted red flag warnings for much the state Monday afternoon due to hot, dry, gusty conditions that were expected to persist into Tuesday.

The Veyo West Fire had grown to nearly 3,000 acres by Tuesday morning, with zero containment, FOX 13 reported. The fire is covering federal, state and private land, FEMA reported in a release Monday night.

Brookside and the west side of Veyo were ordered to evacuate, and officials closed off State Road 18, along with secondary roads. Brookside and Veyo are unincorporated hamlets north of St. George, each home to a few hundred people.

Some of Monday night’s evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday, Kevin Abel, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said Tuesday. Early surveys of the towns found at least one hay barn had been damaged by the fire, Abel said, but it seemed that all the houses remained undamaged.

The fire did come close to homes, but firefighters were able to protect them, Abel said. “We have houses standing in the black,” he said.

The top concern for fire crews Friday, Abel said, is a “red flag” warning, meaning high winds are expected through Tuesday afternoon. Crews were working to establish fire lines north and west of the fire area, he said.

By Monday evening, federal and local fire crews mounted an aggressive attack. Multiple air tankers and helicopters were dropping retardant and water on the flames in an effort to keep them out of residential areas. No containment had been accomplished by Monday night.

The cause of the fire, along with three others that started Monday afternoon in Utah, remains under investigation.

In the face of persistent weather conditions that are conducive to fire, restrictions on burning, campfires and target shooting were imposed across much of central Utah on Monday. So far this year, an alarming share, more than 80%, of the state’s fires have been caused by human carelessness, including three in Utah County that threatened property and scorched a rock art preserve.

Also burning with little to no containment Monday were the Goshen Canyon, Abbott and Allen Draw fires, all started Monday in northern Utah. Lightning is the suspected cause of the Abbott Fire, burning on 100 acres in Indian Canyon in Duchesne County.

The Goshen Canyon Fire has so far burned 215 acres southeast of Goshen, according to Utah Fire Info, and was 50% contained Monday night. Two homes were evacuated.

The FEMA grant was authorized late Monday to cover up to 75% of the state’s cost in fighting the Veyo West Fire, after “determining that the fire threatened such destruction as would constitute a major disaster,” according to a news release.

This story will be updated.

Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune and FOX 13 are partners in a content-sharing agreement.

Southern Utah’s “volcano country” encompasses extinct natural wonders — and homemade pie

Editor’s note • This article is part of 150 Things To Do, a reporting project and newsletter exploring the best that Utah has to offer. Click here to sign up for the 150 Things weekly newsletter.

The tiny town of Veyo, Utah — just 20 minutes northwest of St. George with a total population of 822 — sits nestled in the shadow of a volcano.

“Volcano country,” its welcome sign reads. A little over eight and a half miles south of Veyo, just south of picturesque Diamond Valley, is the Santa Clara Volcano.

No need to worry: Neither the Veyo Volcano nor the Santa Clara Volcano will erupt ever again.

That’s because they’re both cinder cones — also called scoria cones — said recently retired BYU geology professor Eric Christiansen.

And cinder cones are monogenetic, meaning they erupt only once, he said.

Christiansen was part of a research team that, in 2013, discovered evidence that a supervolcano near Wah Wah Springs erupted 30 million years ago, burying a region that stretches from central Utah to central Nevada and from Fillmore in the north to Cedar City in the south.

The eruption lasted for a week and spewed more than 5,500 cubic kilometers of magma, making it about 5,000 times larger than the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. Ash has been found as far away as Nebraska. In southern Utah, deposits from this eruption are 13,000 feet thick.

It collapsed into a caldera — the technical term for a volcano’s crater; essentially a giant hole in the ground — after its eruption, but this caldera was difficult to map because fault lines stretched it out over time.

“Imagine drawing a circle on a piece of paper and then cutting it with scissors in about four different places, and then stretching it apart,” Christiansen said, adding that his team worked across five different mountain ranges to determine where all the caldera’s pieces were.

(Kaitlyn Bancroft | The Salt Lake Tribune) Veyo, Utah (near St. George) sits in the shadow of the Veyo Volcano.

He also said the Wah Wah Springs eruption happened too long ago to be responsible for southwest Utah’s current landscape.

But the tectonic stretching that broke up the supervolcano’s caldera is the same type of stretching which shaped the stunning natural beauty that southwest Utah is known for today, Christiansen said.

And while the Veyo Volcano and the Santa Clara Volcano are extinct, he said cinder cones group together, meaning the area has the potential for more volcanic activity.

“I think a lot of people believe we’re not in a volcanically active region,” Christiansen said. “And I would like to put forth that we are in a volcanically active region. It’s just [that eruptions] don’t happen very often.”

So while you’re not likely to see new volcanic action in southwest Utah any time soon, there’s still plenty of evidence that the Earth’s fire once blazed hot and furious above ground.

Here’s how to explore the Veyo Volcano and the Santa Clara Volcano.

Veyo Volcano

The Veyo Volcano doesn’t have an established trail, but it is open to visitors. Hikers should come prepared — and be mindful that the volcano is covered in loose, rocky terrain that could quickly cause someone to lose their footing on the steep incline.

To explore the Veyo Volcano, look for a pullout on the west side of Highway 18 about a mile south of downtown Veyo. Here you’ll see a gate with a yellow sign asking visitors to close the gate behind them. The gate is held shut with a simple chain and swivel snap; there is no lock.

(Kaitlyn Bancroft | The Salt Lake Tribune) The gate through which visitors can access the dirt road leading to the Veyo Volcano in Veyo, Utah.

When you’ve gone through the gate, you can walk or drive along a bumpy dirt road that runs towards and then alongside the volcano. A muddy stream creates a striking slash of green on the landscape, while the nearby town spills out below.

(Kaitlyn Bancroft | The Salt Lake Tribune) A small stream runs near the Veyo Volcano in Veyo.

Once you’re close enough to the volcano, you can begin climbing at any time, though the west side seems to have a gentler upwards slope.

The ground will become increasingly covered with loose pieces of black and red rock as you get closer to the volcano. Pale green stalks with hardy orange blossoms burst out of the charred terrain.

(Kaitlyn Bancroft | The Salt Lake Tribune) Green plants with orange buds grow within the rocky soil surrounding the Veyo Volcano in Veyo, Utah.

When you’ve had your fill of exploring the Veyo Volcano, there’s more volcano-themed fun to be had in Veyo itself. Swing by Veyo Pies for a slice — Or three. Or eight. We’re not judging! — of their signature Veyo Volcano pie: layers of cream cheese, chocolate and butterscotch, ensconced in a graham cracker crust and topped with whipped cream. (And yes, it’s every bit as guiltily delicious as it sounds.)

The outside of Veyo Pies in Veyo, Utah. (Kaitlyn Bancroft)

(Kaitlyn Bancroft | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Veyo Volcano pie features layers of cream cheese, chocolate and butterscotch ensconced in a graham cracker crust and topped with whipped cream. Try it at Veyo Pies in Veyo, Utah.

You can also sample any of their other 24 pies, which include a variety of fruit, cream and specialty pies, or from their pastry selection which includes turnovers, cookies and doughnuts. Pies can be purchased whole or by the slice.

And if you’re hungry for more than dessert, just across the street from Veyo Pies is the Slice of Veyo pizzeria.

In addition to traditional pizzas, pastas and paninis, their menu features the Veyo Volcano pizza (pepperoni, Italian sausage, jalapenos) and the Maui Volcano pizza (Canadian bacon, pineapple, jalapenos), both of which are made with the restaurant’s spicy “lava sauce.”

(Kristina Bancroft) Salt Lake Tribune reporter Kaitlyn Bancroft stands outside the Slice of Veyo pizzeria in Veyo, Utah.

Santa Clara Volcano

If you’re looking to check more than one volcano off your list, hit up the Santa Clara Volcano as you drive back to St. George along Highway 18, located just past the turn-in to Diamond Valley (total drive time is about 10 minutes).

Unlike the Veyo Volcano, the Santa Clara Volcano has an established hiking trail. As you pass Diamond Valley, keep an eye out for the easy-to-miss trailhead marker for the Cinder Cone Trail.

(Kaitlyn Bancroft | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Cinder Cone trail takes hikers to the top of the Santa Clara Volcano, located just south of Diamond Valley, Utah.

The Hike St. George website ranks the 1.9 miles roundtrip hike as moderately difficult due to the trail’s steepness and slipperiness.

Still, if you can handle the hike’s 500 feet of elevation, the top offers beautiful views of Snow Canyon and Dameron Valley, the website states.

Once at the top, visitors can also hike down into a crater and check out a small rock fort and rock wall.

Editor’s note • 150 Things To Do is a reporting project and weekly newsletter made possible by the generous support of the Utah Office of Tourism. Sign up for the 150 Things newsletter here.

ST. GEORGE — A stretch of state Route 18 between Veyo and Central is being eyed for the construction of a multiuse trail in connection with road work already being planned by the Utah Department of Transportation. The pending project is seen as a safety improvement for individuals who bike and run on the side of the road where officials say not much of a shoulder exists and poses a safety risk.

Work between Veyo and Central will focus on road preservation and the widening of the roadway, Kayde Roberts, a UDOT project manager, told St. George News on Wednesday.

That work is expected to begin next summer. For now, UDOT is still working out some of the details.

UDOT has reached out to the communities along parts of SR-18 that will be impacted and has also taken public input from them. The road agency also plans to return to the area with an open house sharing details with locals on what they can expect to see once work begins.

Before then, however, UDOT officials will be meeting with the Utah Transportation Commission to apply for funding for additional improvements to the roadway beyond widening it, Roberts said.

This is where the Washington County Commission came in. The commission voted in a meeting on Tuesday to approve issuing a letter of support for UDOT asking the transportation commission for the additional funding.

Assistant Washington County Attorney Devin Snow said proposed UDOT improvements include a double-left turn in the Brookside area, as well as more of a shoulder on the west side of the road. As for the county’s part, they would be allowed to build the multiuse trail within UDOT’s right of way. The county would also be paying for the design and construction of the trail, he said.

Washington County Commissioner Victor Iverson reiterated that the reason for the county pursuing the project was for the safety of both pedestrians and motorists passing through the area.

“A lot of people like to prepare for the (St. George) marathon and run and bike along that area, but it’s not safe,” he said. “It has no shoulder on it.”

SR-18 has long been a part of the annual St. George Marathon, as well as the Ironman triathlon, which has lent to it being used by athletes training for these events.

The roadway has also been used for a wide array of events that led to parts of it being routinely shut down. Because of this, county officials are actively seeking to limit how often the roadway is closed with the exceptions of the St. George Marathon and Ironman competitions.

The new stretch of trail will not be an isolated segment, Commissioner Adam Snow said, and ties into a trial that runs from St. George to the northern entrance of Snow Canyon Parkway on SR-18. From there, the trails will be connected by a shoulder that is safe for pedestrian use, he added.

“It’ll be the continuation of a safer travel corridor,” Commissioner Snow said.

An estimate on the cost of the construction of the multiuse trail has yet to be determined.

Safety improvements have been made to SR-18 in the past aimed at benefiting cyclists and runners use of the road. One of those times was in 2012 when UDOT put $1.6 million toward improvements sought by local cycling enthusiasts.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A brush fire that started a mile west of Veyo on Monday afternoon has since spread to nearly 3,000 acres and has destroyed one home and two outbuilding, prompting FEMA to step in to assist.

Meanwhile, the Turkey Farm Road fire also reported Monday burning west of the Veyo fire grew throughout the night and is now at more than 1,600 acres. Both blazes are 0% contained, and hot, dry winds are in the forecast throughout the area Tuesday.

Kevin Abel with Dixie National Forest told St. George News that the West Veyo Fire ignited shortly before 3 p.m. Monday and has burned through more than 2,900 acres of dry brush and grass on state, federal and private land. Incident command of the blaze transitioned to Abel early Tuesday morning, and he said that the total area burned was determined using information gleaned from an aerial map taken of the area at 9:30 a.m.

Abel also said that a survey of the area is currently underway and will provide a more detailed assessment of the damage by Tuesday afternoon.

While backburn efforts have been successful, and evacuations for Brookside and parts of Veyo have been lifted – as well as state Route 18 being reopened – the fire is still 0% contained.

Moreover, with red flag warnings in place, fire crews are going to have to work hard to contain the fire before the winds kick up in the afternoon, which can change the direction of a fire “in an instant,” Abel said.

“Crews can have control of a fire at one moment, and the next it all can change.”

Multiple local, state and federal agencies continue fighting the blaze, he said, and have worked throughout the night. Abel also said that numerous volunteers from several local fire departments have continued fighting the fire as well.

“We’ve got crazy support from these local volunteer departments who have stepped in to help and are working so hard to protect the structures and so on,” he said. “We really couldn’t do it without these local departments.”

Turkey Farm Road Fire

As of 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, the Turkey Farm Road Fire has burned through 1,661 acres and is still 0% contained, Christian Venhuizen with the Bureau of Land Management told St. George News.

The fire was reported shortly after 9 p.m. Monday, and the cause is still under investigation.

Venhuizen said that one outbuilding has been destroyed in the fire, which is burning through an area covered in pinion pine, juniper, dry brush and grasses. Venhuizen also said that due to dry, hot windy conditions in the forecast for the area, fire crews are “working hard and are doing their best to protect the structures and property.”

Multiple state and local fire departments have responded and continue to fight the blaze.

FEMA steps in on West Veyo Fire

On Monday evening, FEMA authorized the use of federal funds to help cover fire suppression costs for the Veyo West Fire after the agency approved the state’s request for assistance.

A press release sent out by FEMA’s Denver office Monday stated: “The fire threatened such destruction as would constitute a major disaster.”

At the time of the request, more than 800 homes were threatened, prompting authorities to begin evacuations in the area.

The funding covers 75% of the state’s eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant under the disaster relief fund; however, the grant does not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — More than a week after a fire in Veyo engulfed a city bus converted by a family of six into a traveling home, three of the family members remain hospitalized in Las Vegas. The youngest son remains on a ventilator, while the father and oldest daughter underwent surgeries Wednesday at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas.

The cause of the fire, which took place late Dec. 27, has not been determined. However, a family statement indicates a propane leak was heard before the fire. The Utah State Fire Marshal has taken over the investigation.

According to a statement online by the mother, Whitney Copeland, the father, Kyle Copeland, recently came off a ventilator and during surgery, Wednesday was having cadaver skin removed from his hands in favor of skin grafts. He has bandages all over his face and one eye remains too swollen for him to see.

According to witnesses, Kyle Copeland went back into the bus to rescue two of his kids who remained trapped in the flames. His wife said he was able to talk with her about going back in the bus.

“Kyle kept saying how he knows his role was to get the kids out, that he showed up as a dad, and dads protect,” Whitney Copeland said. “Kyle said that he ran through the flames to run to the back of the bus and he saw (the kids) both standing in the back of the bus in between the bunk beds. Kyle scooped (his son) into his arms. Then turned to (his daughter), who was stunned. Kyle then put her in the tightest head lock he could and turned towards the flames. In that moment he says, ‘it was as if I was looking right into hell.’”

Whitney Copeland said she remembered her husband being on the burning bus for about a minute, then came out and fell to the ground face down after handing his son to his wife. The daughter was on the top step in flames.

“I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the bus and threw my body onto her patting her down and extinguishing the flames all over her body and hair,” Whitney Copeland said. She added she then pulled the three away from the burning vehicle and a minute later, the vehicle exploded, which correlates with firefighters’ accounts that night, who said that the bus burned before the propane tank exploded.

Copeland said her husband was wearing a jacket he received from his father a few weeks before that was fireproof. The youngest son was wearing footed pajamas that were purchased in California, where a law says all footed pajamas must be fireproof.

The oldest of the four children, an 11-year-old daughter, had her fourth surgery Wednesday morning involving skin scraping and grafts. She had her breathing tube removed Monday but is still having difficulty swallowing, getting water from a sponge.

Whitney Copeland said while her daughter had trouble moving her lips, she was still able to communicate.

“She was asking about the bus. And everything on it,” Copeland said of her daughter. “I asked her if she remembered that the bus was on fire. She said yes, then asked what about everything? I said everything was burnt and lost in the fire. But everyone in our family got out and is safe.”

The youngest, a 3-year-old boy, remains on a ventilator, Whitney Copeland said, and is scheduled for his fourth surgery on Friday. His eyes remain swollen shut, but he is able to respond to commands.

All three have severe burns to their faces that have left them charred and swollen with skin having to be removed. “My Kyle and my children’s faces and bodies will most likely not be the same,” Whitney Copeland said.

According to a statement from Addey Kerr, sister of Whitney Copeland, on the night of Dec. 27 the two parents were outside hitching the bus to a storage trailer. The oldest and a middle-child were in their bunks, while the two other children, including the 3-year-old, were toward the front of the bus playing on the floor. The children in the front heard what they described as “leaking water” and a hissing coming from the front propane tank.

The 11-year-old daughter yelled for one of the children to go out and tell the parents about the leak. When the child got outside, the front of the bus – with the only exit in or out – exploded in flames. The 3-year-old went to the side of the oldest daughter while the middle child went out an emergency escape window next to the top bunk.

Outside, Whitney Copeland was about to run into the bus for the other children when Kyle Copeland pushed her to the side and went in himself.

In the week since, a GoFundMe set up to raise funds for the family has raised $174,603 as of Wednesday evening.

“We feel so supported, so lifted up, so grateful,” Whitney Copeland said.

Ed. note: When making charitable contributions it is advisable to consult with professionals for tax advice and investment risks.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.