A fire in Hobble Creek Canyon had grown to 150 acres by Wednesday morning, even though firefighters had worked through the night and the temperature had dropped to 32 degrees.
Sparks from a broken power line ignited the blaze at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. By 3 p.m., 50 acres of brush had been consumed, and by 5 p.m., 100 acres were involved."There's so much dry fuel out there, the fire is spreading quickly," said Loyal Clark, Uinta National Forest spokeswoman. "It's burning hotter and faster than usual. Crews have had trouble getting around to the front, it's burning so hot and fast."
The cooler temperatures overnight had helped firefighters get in front of the fire, but the wind picked up about 3 a.m., setting them back.
"The colder nights, lower day temperatures and dew will reduce the time the fire can burn," she said.
The fire began just west of the Hobble Creek Golf Course and Wednesday morning still was burning away from about 22 houses in the nearby Kelly's Grove area.
Clark said more than 80 firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service, Springville and other areas have worked hard to control the blaze.
"We were scrambling to find people. The Forest Service has let most of its people go for the season."
No firefighters had been hurt in the blaze, she said.
"A fire is always a frightening thing to see," Clark said. "When crews arrive, their adrenaline is pumping, so they aren't really too scared. The adrenaline stops a few hours later, and things get a little more real.
"But these people are professionals and skilled firefighters, so they take as few risks as possible. They always have an escape route."
A helicopter sent from the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho is being used to dump water on the flames, and a bulldozer is available to help create a fire line.
Clark had no prediction on when the fire would be under control.
"There's no way to guess. When the wind shifts, the direction of the fire shifts and plans have to change."