HENEFER, Summit County — Hundreds of people remain evacuated because of a large wildfire burning through the Wasatch Back, but fire crews have now contained nearly a quarter of its perimeter.
Tuesday’s conditions have also been more favorable than the past few days, which may help firefighters gain the upper hand on the fire.
“Honestly, we feel really confident about our efforts today that I feel like we’ll start to see some progress,” said Sierra Hellstrom, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service and Northern Utah Type 3 Incident Management Team. “I know it’s still scary for the residents up here, but I want them to know we’re doing everything we can.”
The Rocky Canyon Fire remains approximately 23% contained, having now burned more than 14,000 acres.
Tuesday’s winds thus far have pushed the fire into the cliffs and away from the community, which wasn’t the case on Sunday or Monday. That’s introduced new firefighting challenges, with helicopters hoisting some firefighters to remote, rocky areas to fight where the fire is headed, which could affect other communities.
However, it’s also allowing crews to strategically carry out controlled burns, referred to as firing operations, in the Franklin Canyon area, where the winds are blowing the fire into itself to slow down fire activity, Hellstrom said.
Containment has already been achieved within the state Route 66, East Canyon and Hogsback areas, toward Morgan and the southern and western edges of the fire, Hellstrom said earlier in the day.
Several homes and East Canyon State Park are located within the section now contained, following firing operations that helped stop the progress of the wildfire near the park.
The fire began from an undetermined human cause in Morgan County on Friday, but spread rapidly over the weekend through strong winds that pushed the fire closer to communities like Henefer. It burned through a large section of the East Canyon Wildlife Management Area as it spread.Over 300 personnel are currently battling the blaze. No known structures have been lost because of the fire, but officials warn that “quite a few” structures remain threatened.
The state has been creative in its attack, as it navigates through a lack of available federal resources.
Utah Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters have helped dump water on the fire this week, after they were first deployed last week to help battle the Black Canyon Fire in central Utah. They’ve now flown over 100 hours, dropping 160,000 gallons of water on the two fires.
“The deployment of these Black Hawk helicopters provides additional capability at a time when aviation resources are in high demand nationwide,” said Mike Melton, deputy state fire management officer, in a statement last week.
Henefer and areas near the I-80/I-84 junction are considered the biggest concerns, as the northeast corner of the fire is where it’s still most active, Hellstrom said. She doesn’t expect evacuation statuses in those areas to change on Tuesday.
Areas toward the southern end of the fire may also appear more active because of ongoing firing operations. A few evacuations have been lifted closer to Morgan, although residents could be evacuated again if conditions change.
Firing operations resume at Widemouth 2 Fire
Fire crews are also strategically carrying out firing operations at Utah’s largest wildfire this year, the Widemouth 2 Fire between Millard and Sevier counties, U.S. Forest Service officials said in a social media post.
The agency explained that they turn to the tactic because it “starves the wildfire” by removing the fuel it needs to keep spreading, while also creating safer buffers for firefighters. Light, favorable winds set up alongside the right humidity levels and air currents to begin those operations on Tuesday.
“Expect to see higher visible activity through the afternoon and evening while crews work,” they wrote.
The fire, which is 30% contained, has now burned over 122,700 acres since it started on July 27. More than 850 personnel were assigned to it on Tuesday.
This story may be updated.
