Utah's fire woes continued Thursday when a large, fast-moving fire broke out in Nephi Canyon.

The Salt Creek fire began around 2 p.m. and consumed 5,000 acres in just three hours. Campgrounds and picnic areas were evacuated, and the fire forced the closure of State Road 132 from the mouth of Nephi Canyon to the border of Juab and Sanpete counties, and the entire length of the 32-mile Mount Nebo Loop Road. The fire cast a pall of smoke over Utah County.

As of Thursday night, the fire was about two miles from Nephi, though a Bureau of Land Management spokesman said the fire was headed away from the area. The last estimate put the fire at 13,000 acres burned Thursday night. To the east of the blaze, Indianola and the Thousand Oaks subdivision were evacuated. The flames also destroyed several vehicles when it burned through a KOA campground. Changing winds were blowing the fire in at least two directions.

"Just with the amount of area that the fire is covering now, we just don't have an estimate on containment time at all," said Forest Service spokeswoman Loyal Clark.

About 45 firefighters from several agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and BLM, battled the blaze using 14 engines, four air tankers and two single-engine air tankers, which are crop dusters adapted to drop flame retardant. Crews from Utah and Juab counties and Nephi city were also helping to fight the fire.

"We've ordered additional resources, but ... with all the fires that are burning throughout the West ... we're in competition for resources," Clark said.

Eighteen Boy Scouts and hikers were evacuated from Nephi Canyon by a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter, said BLM spokesman Bert Hart. They were airlifted to their vehicles and were able to drive out of the canyon.

"They'd had to get up in some real rough, rocky area to get away from the fire, so it could have been bad. But with quick work by the helicopters they were able to get out," Hart said.

Officials said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

"There were reports that there was a car that was shooting sparks out of his brakes, but that is still under investigation," Clark said.

Two fire-related injuries were reported as of Thursday night. Hart said a firefighter twisted his knee and a Juab County sheriff's deputy was struck by a vehicle, though he was unsure of the severity of the injury.

The fire also caused power outages. Margaret Oler, spokeswoman for Rocky Mountain Power, said 2,200 of her company's customers were without electrical service when the fire burned a transmission line Thursday. Rocky Mountain Power customers had their power restored by about 7:30 Thursday night, except for a handful of customers in evacuated areas.

Municipal power customers in various cities also experienced outages.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.