SPRINGVILLE — A wildfire reported Saturday in Spanish Fork Canyon near Diamond Campground had burned approximately 300 acres by Saturday evening.
KJ Pollock, a public information officer with the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest Service, said the fire had burned mostly dry grass and brush.
Since the fire began around 2 p.m., she said “winds have slowed down.”
By 3 p.m., the fire had burned about 20 acres. Utah County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue are conducting evacuations for hunters and anyone in cabins near Wanrhodes Creek Road, according to Spencer Cannon, spokesman for the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
Pollock said evacuations had not taken place for people who own vacation homes or cabins in the area, as no structures were immediately threatened.
“They are, though, evacuating hunters and other recreationists in Diamond Fork Canyon,” she said.
Earlier in the day, Cannon said the fire was moving up the canyon. Through his Twitter account, he said people visiting Fifth Water Hot Springs in Spanish Fork Canyon, a popular attraction among locals, were evacuated as a precaution. As of 7 p.m., no roads have been closed due to the fire.
Pollock said between 40 and 50 firefighters from the Utah County Fire Department, Mapleton Fire Department and Spanish Fork Fire Department were working to put out the fire, with more resources and agencies on their way.
No air resources were anticipated, she said.
Fire officials do not yet know what sparked the wildfire and the cause is under investigation.
Last September, the Pole Creek Fire, caused by lightning, blazed through areas in Spanish Fork Canyon before merging with the Bald Mountain Fire. The combined fires burned more than 120,000 acres and forced evacuations for nearly 6,000 people in the area.