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Additional fire crews, including a hot shot crew from Idaho, were called in today to help fight the fire in Corner Canyon near Draper.
Kim Osborn, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said that hand crews were sent out this morning to hike down into the fire. A hot shot crew will also be sent out later this afternoon. They are also sending out helicopters to fight the blaze with water and retardant. The fire, which threatened more than 200 homes and forced 63 evacuations on Monday, has burned between 600 and 900 acres and the Forest Service has no estimate on the amount of containment. "We aren't exactly sure the exactly how many acres have burned," Osborn said. "We will have a more exact number later today after we get crews working on the ground." The Forest Service is expecting better weather conditions today than Monday. Osborn said that there are cooler temperatures expexted, which should help the firefighting effort. "We may wee about 20 m.p.h. winds," Osborn said. "But it is not like what we say yesterday. The Forest Service also issued warnings Tuesday urging people to stay out of the area if at all possible. They are also warned those with sensitive breathing to stay indoors. "There is significantly less smoke today, but it is still out there," Osborn said. On Monday, residents in the area of the fire were forced to leave their homes at about 3:30 p.m. Evacuated residents were allowed to return home at 8 p.m. Monday. There were about 160 firefighters working on the fire, as well as 35 fire engines, a helicopter and air tankers. The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning for the area Monday, which meant there were severe fire-weather conditions. The warning, which was for the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys, was for south winds of 15-25 mph, with gusts up to 30 mph. The winds were expected to die down by 10 p.m. Osborn said the fire was moving a little bit to the north. The blaze, which started early Monday afternoon, may or may not be connected to a small fire in Alpine that was extinguished quickly by crews headed to the larger Corner Canyon fire. Utah County crews headed to Draper to help out, but detoured to stop the second fire that was just getting started. County assistant fire warden Kevin Cortez said he was headed to the Corner Canyon fire to help with structure protection when they spotted the smoke in Alpine. "I would say in the nick of time," he said of their arrival at the second blaze that was put out after consuming just one acre. The state of Utah has asked multiple agencies for help, but there may be some problems finding enough crews. For example, the U.S. Forest Service recently sent people to fight a blaze in Oregon and also lost a good number of seasonal crews because universities across the country begin this week. "Friday was their last day," said spokeswoman Loyal Clark. Lonesome Pine Fire Investigators don't know what started a wildfire still burning near Eureka. Dubbed the Lonesome Pine Fire, it was started Sunday about three miles from the city. As of Tuesday morning, the fire had destroyed 560 acres and was 30 percent contained. The cause of the blaze is still unknown, according to the Central Utah Interagency Fire Center. The fire caused the closure of Eureka Cemetery Road. No structures are threatened and there has been only one small injury in the fire that is burning among steep, rocky terrain. Fighting the blaze are: • a heavy air tanker, • 12 engines, • three bulldozers, • four hand crews, • two water tenders, • 11 smoke jumpers and multiple overhead personnel. Looking for help Fire officials are looking for people who were in the area of the Corner Canyon fire when it started around noon. If you saw something or have a photo of the fire taken just after it started, please call the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office at (801) 743-7000. |
