A fast-moving brush fire destroyed eight homes in the Utah tourist town of Moab, while more than 3,000 people in Colorado and Wyoming fled multiple wildfires scorching the drought-stricken U.S. West on Wednesday.
The blaze in Moab, known for its dramatic red rocks, started in a wooded area Tuesday night and quickly spread to homes over less than a square mile, police Chief Jim Winder said. Crews were extinguishing embers Wednesday.
Moab residents Tim Clark and his girlfriend Tina Saunders grabbed their dogs, family photos and a laptop, evacuating with their home in flames.
“Those houses just started going like dominoes,” Clark told the Salt Lake Tribune . “Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!”