Salt Lake City firefighters Sunday afternoon urged residents near a fire burning above the University of Utah to prepare to evacuate should the need arise.
The fire has grown to 395 acres with no containment, Salt Lake firefighters said.
In a post to Facebook, the department stated residents in the Arlington Hills area, or 11th Avenue to Tomahawk Drive, should be ready to evacuate on short notice. While there is no immediate threat, the department said conditions can change quickly.
At this time, firefighters have advised residents to monitor updates on UtahFireInfo.gov, review evacuation plans with family members, gather important documents, prepare pets and livestock for a possible evacuation, make sure vehicles are ready to leave if needed and be “ready to move to a SET or GO status with little notice.”
Firefighters ask that residents do not call 911 for evacuation info, except in the case of an actual emergency.
A shelter-in-place order for students was lifted overnight Sunday.
“The fire remained active overnight, and firefighters worked the perimeter throughout the night,” state fire managers said on the Utah Fire Info X page.
Crews were called about 6 p.m. Saturday to the fire in the area of 1950 E. Circle of Hope Dr. on the east side of the university. The fire is moving slowly to the south, though it remains north of Red Butte Canyon Road, according to a post on X by the Salt Lake City Fire Department.
A campus alert went out to U. students requesting them to shelter in place at 9:30 p.m., after a previous alert advised students to stay inside as smoke affected the east side of campus, though U. Health facilities remained operational, the alert said. The request was lifted about midnight.
Kathy Willets, University of Utah Health spokeswoman, said the facility wasn’t evacuating but is in “divert” mode, meaning ambulances and vehicles are being diverted to other hospitals.
“So far, all of our staff are working together; these are the kinds of things we train for all the time, so we’ve been asked to stay in place … there’s not great to our buildings at this time,” she said.
“A lot of people can smell smoke in the building, so they’re trying to calm the patients … but care is moving forward as usual, and we’re just cooperating with police and fire as they manage the situation,” she said.
No structures are directly threatened, Salt Lake City fire spokesman Chad Jepperson said, though the Red Butte structure and canyon remain under voluntary evacuations.
The department earlier Saturday also asked the public to evacuate the parking lot at the Jewish Community Center so that state and federal firefighters could continue to battle the blaze.
On X at 2 p.m. on Sunday, the Salt Lake City Fire Department said large air tankers provided retardant. Ground crews are stationed around the perimeter of the fire as they work to establish containment along its northern and northwestern edges, the department said.
Neighborhoods in the area are not threatened, as winds are expected to continue to shift southwest down the mountain, according to firefighters.
Firefighters urge people not to fly drones in the area.
Contributing: Alex Tumalip
