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SPANISH FUSE – The Pole Creek fire, one of two large fires burning in southeastern Utah County, is contained at 23 percent, fire officials said late Monday.
The Spanish Fork police announced Monday night that firefighters had gained ground over the Pole Creek fire. A tweet The department said that the fire was contained at 23%.
Combined, the Bald Mountain and Pole Brook fires burned more than 86,000 acres on Monday morning. Separately, the Pole Creek fire became the largest fire of the state in 2018, with over 71,000 acres.
Earlier Monday, Marty Adell, spokesman for the Great Basin Incident Command Team, said that the part of the Pole Creek fire that jumped on the US Highway 6 on Sunday was quickly dug north of the highway.
"At this point of the day, this fire is rising and moving at a high speed, generating a huge amount of fire," he said. "It is moving north in the Diamond Fork Canyon towards the Hobble (Creek) area."
The firefighters' movement forced public servants to add the Diamond Fork and Sheep Creek areas, as well as parts of Hobble Creek Canyon, to a mandatory evacuation zone. More than 2,000 homes and about 6,000 people were evacuated due to the fire. Mayor Elk Ridge said the evacuations could remain in place for two weeks.
There is no clear timetable for evacuation, said Todd Pechota, Rocky Mountain incident operations commander.
"The reality is that at this stage, it would be premature to speculate on the duration of evacuations caused by the fire of the bald mountain," he said. All I can tell you is that our team, the firefighters on the ground, really understands what these evacuations are doing to the public. They are working so hard that these areas are secure so we can get back there as quickly as possible. "
The US Highway 6 and I-80 Highway 89 to Highway 202 near Tooele were also closed Monday because of forest fires that affected the road, reported the center of the KSL Newsradio circulation. Officials from the Utah Highway Patrol tweeted Monday that there was no timetable for the reopening of the highway.
Morning update: We anticipate that Highway 6 will remain closed for an extended period. Thank you for your patience. We will keep you informed if something changes. #PoleCreekFire– Utah Road Patrol (@UTHighwayPatrol) September 17, 2018
This article will be updated with the latest information on fires throughout the day.
Evacuees invited to sign up for e-mail alerts
Two community meetings were held Monday evening to inform residents who are out of their homes again because of the Bald Mountain and Pole Brook fires.
Officials from the Utah County Sheriff's Office have asked evacuees to sign up for their alert service to get the latest information sent via SMS, email or phone.
You can sign up for these alerts at Alerts.UtahCounty.gov.
Pole Creek fire is now 23%
The Pole Creek fire is now contained at 23%, according to officials from the Police Department of Spain.
A tweet On Monday evening, the Spanish Fork Police Department also mentioned two other "good news": improving weather conditions allowing "air operations throughout the day" and an increase in staff and equipment expected from overnight.
We have good news from tonight's update!
Progression of fire
– The Pole Creek fire is now 23% contained.
– Today, the weather has allowed air operations throughout the day.
– The night shift will have more manpower, equipment and engines to work … https://t.co/lhcvuB6qlC– Spanish Fork Police (@SpanishForkPD) September 18, 2018
Updates on the fires burning near Kamas
According to US Forest Service spokesman Brenda Bushell, two fires burning near Kamas continue to worsen.
The Slate Fire, located about 10 km northeast of Kamas, has now burned 268 acres about 3 and a half miles north of Highway 150. The Cobbler fire along the north side of Mirror Lake has now burned 100 acres.
The Slate Fire was reported for the first time on August 23 and was triggered by lightning, while the Cobblerest fire began Saturday, according to Bushell. The cause of the Cobblerest fire remains in the study.
Neither the fire burned structures. Bushell said that Spring Canyon Road is closed at the junction of National Highway 150 to Washington Lake because of the Cobblerest fire.
Governor Herbert to Visit Fire Damage Along US Highway
Governor Gary Herbert was to investigate the damage caused by the Bald and Pole Creek fire, which burned a total of 86,739 acres southeast of Salem.
He said the visit would be along American Highway No. 6, which remains closed after the highway fire on Sunday.
"I hope we can understand that," Herbert said. "I'm going to look at the canyon of the covered bridge, which is the most at risk right now."
However, he added that he thought the crews were "well located" to protect the homes from destruction by both fires. He said the goal was to prevent fire from going to populated areas of the state.
"It's probably not as far north," Herbert said.
Community meeting planned for Pole Creek, Mount Bald fires
A community meeting is scheduled for Monday night, allowing residents affected by the Bald Mountain and Pole Creek fires to ask questions about firefighting efforts.
The meeting will be held at 6:30 pm at Sanpete North High School, 390 E. 700 South at Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County.
US Forest Service officials said the fire had spread to more than 3,500 acres and is now believed to have burned 71,873 acres, or about 112 square miles. The new estimate makes it larger than the Dollar Ridge Fire (68,869 acres) that burned south of Fruitland, Duchesne County, in July and August and the Brian Head Fire (71,000 acres) in the county. Iron last year. According to Inciweb, the Grouse Creek fire that burned earlier in the summer between Utah and Nevada burned 132,000 acres in total and 68,431 acres in Utah.
Authorities said the fire is expected to continue to develop on Monday with strong winds, warm temperatures and low humidity predicted in the southwestern area of Spanish Fork and northeast of Nephi.
More than 500 staff members were assigned to the fire, including 33 engines and 11 helicopters.
On September 6, the fire was triggered by lightning and is contained at 2%.
The fire of the bald mountains continues to grow
The US Forest Service reported that the Bald Mountain fire, which was burning southeast of Salem, in Utah County, exceeded 1,300 acres during the night and burned 14,866 acres since the 24th. August.
Fire caused by lightning remains at 0%. A map published by Utah Fire Info shows that the fire has essentially merged with the fire of Pole Creek, which burns east of Mount Bald.
Both fires are burning west of the Coal Hollow fire, mostly confined, which has burned more than 30,000 acres in the Spanish Fork Canyon since August.
#BaldMountainFire is currently at 14,866 acres and 0% content. The fire should be active again today. Despite the conditions of the red flag yesterday, great progress has been made in the construction of bulldozer lines between the edge of the fire and the structures. Full update: https://t.co/CCUpKEcLb0pic.twitter.com/iLeddU8nft
– Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) September 17, 2018
The authorities said they thought the fire would be "active" again Monday and that the Rocky Mountain Type I incident team was assigned to fight the fire. Red flag conditions are set for the day, which means officials expect warm, dry conditions and strong gusts of wind.
Authorities said the forecast for the area includes sustained southerly to southwest winds at 8-12 mph with gusts of 25 mph.
Riggs and Lonely Community Fire Meeting to be held in Tropic, Garfield County
Firefighters from two fires burning near Bryce Canyon National Park and the Dixie National Forest will hold a community meeting on Monday night at the Bryce Valley High School auditorium in Tropic at 6pm.
The Riggs and Lonely fires grew together over the weekend and burned a combined total of 1,450 acres.
Bryce Canyon National Park remains open to visitors. Some areas of the park are closed, including portions of the "Under-the-Rim" and "Riggs Spring Loop" trails. The Grandview Trail between the junction of Willis Creek and the lower Podunk in the Dixie National Forest is closed.
US Highway 63 has been closed to traffic but has reopened since. A closing zone around the fire zone is still in effect.
Poor air quality in Utah County
The smoke from the Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires made the quality of air unhealthy in part of Utah County on Monday.
Last QA in the county of Utah …. The southern part of the county. pic.twitter.com/Q0O38IOFoq
– Grant Weyman (@KSLweyman) September 17, 2018
Get updates on the KSL air quality network here.
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Carter Williams
Linda Williams
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