Buckley Draw Fire continues to burn on mountainside over Provo
-
- The Buckley Draw Fire is pictured Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Provo.
-
- A plane drops retardant to fight the Buckley Draw Fire near Provo on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025.
-
- The Buckley Draw Fire is pictured Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Provo.
-
- The Buckley Draw Fire is pictured Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Provo.
-
- The Buckley Draw Fire is visible from the campus of Brigham Young University on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Provo.
-
- The Buckley Draw Fire is pictured Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Provo.
-
- A helicopter flies to dump water on the Buckley Draw fire Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Provo.
-
- The Buckley Draw Fire is pictured Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Provo.
The Buckley Draw Fire broke out on the mountainside south of Slate Canyon in Provo around 5 p.m. Sunday and continued to burn into Monday.
By Monday afternoon, the fire covered an estimated 400 acres with 0% containment, according to Northern Utah Type 3 Incident Management Team spokesperson Sierra Hellstrom, and was expected to grow “a little bit” while remaining at 0% containment.
However, the fire had reduced its activity along the western border near homes as wind from the west pushed the fire up the hill on Sunday night and Monday.
“That helps us out a lot, because we have pretty predictable winds in the area that will continue to push that fire northward, and we do not have any predicted weather forecast of changes in the wind at this time,” Hellstrom said.
As of Monday afternoon, neighborhoods near the fire were in a “yellow evacuation,” which means no action needs to be taken, but people should be prepared.
“You don’t need to leave, but that’s when you should start preparing what you should take,” Hellstrom said. “That’s when we always recommend people to start gathering their Ps: your people, your pets, your prescriptions, your papers or documentations, your photos and any personal items you might need.”
Provo City added Monday morning that there is no immediate threat to the community, but teams are carefully watching wind and weather conditions.
The city said trigger points have been established for the progression of the fire and if the fire were to reach those points, evacuations would proceed.
Hellstrom added that with continued firefighting efforts on the west perimeter, they hope they’re able to hold the fire where it is and not issue evacuations.
The Northern Utah Type 3 Incident Management Team took over command of the fire Monday morning, while firefighters from Provo, Utah County, the U.S. Forest Service and the state continued to assist.
Fire officials are urging people not to fly drones in the area near the fire, which causes a hazard for aircraft combating the fire.
Two drone incursions Sunday and two additional drone incursions Monday afternoon caused firefighters to temporarily ground all aircraft each time, Hellstrom said.
“This really causes a hazardous situation for firefighters,” she said. “We’ve hiked them up in there and some of what keeps the firefighters safe is their ability to call those air resources if needed.”
Aircraft are scooping water from Timpanogos Golf Club in Provo and Bartholomew Park Pond in Springville to fight the fire.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
“With the fire activity, it hasn’t been safe enough to get an investigator up on the scene at the point of origin yet,” Hellstrom said.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
