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Two wildfires in Utah burned 87,000 acres combined on Monday night, reports CBS affiliate in Salt Lake City. The fires were triggered by lightning in the Unita National Forest; Pole Creek started on September 6th and is confined to 2% and Bald Mountain started on August 24th and is 0% content.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert said the next few days would be crucial as firefighters try to prevent hundreds of homes from spreading. Herbert spoke Friday night after meeting with fire officials at Spanish Fork Expo.
The fires occurred half a mile from the meltdown when fires were mapped Saturday afternoon. The main concern is that the Pole Creek fire has jumped off Highway 6. It has burned a shed and hundreds of livestock, but no house or life has been lost.
"This is not a sprint – it's a marathon," said Herbert during a Monday briefing with the media. "It will take time to extinguish this fire."
The governor says that if the winds stay low, the crews will have a good chance to stay on top of the fire.
Hundreds of homes have been evacuated to Woodland Hills, Elk Ridge and Covered Bridge.
More than 430 people work on the Pole Creek fire, which has reached more than 68,000 acres. Herbert says that this figure will probably increase to 1,000, as more and more aircrew and ground crews come into play.
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