Firefighters battle massive fires in Utah
July 9, 1996
Web posted at: 9:20 a.m. EDTRICHFIELD, Utah (CNN) -- Desert wildfires were threatening a small town and an Indian reservation in Utah Tuesday morning, although firefighters had gained the upper hand in battling fires elsewhere in the region.
A 30,000-acre fire forced officials to ask the 30 to 50 residents of Terra, Utah, to leave Monday night, but Kathy Jo Pollock of the Interagency Fire Center could not confirm how many of Terra's residents actually left. Terra is about 60 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
A 1,000-acre fire, north of the one that pushed toward Terra, burned near the Skull Valley reservation, threatening homes there and other buildings on private land. Both that fire and the Terra blaze began Monday, and are believed to have been started by lightning.
More than 35,000 acres of the Fishlake National Forest have burned since lightning strikes started the fires Thursday. Fire information official Wallace Shiverdecker said firefighters are making good progress against what he called the "Sorensen Complex" fires, including the 31,000-acre Twin fire and the 4,200-acre Eight Mile fire.
Lower winds, higher humidity and some rainfall have helped 1,500 firefighters bring some of the fires, including one that threatened a historic Mormon settlement, closer to containment.
No injuries have been reported in any of the blazes so far. Some power lines were burned Sunday in Millard County, causing brief power outages.
Wildfires across the West have scorched 133,000 acres in the past few days, aided by dry summer weather and strong winds. In addition to the Utah fires, lightning-sparked fires along the California-Nevada line threatened two small communities on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Firefighters also contained a 120,000-acre range fire in Idaho on Sunday that had burned for nearly a week.
Related stories:
- Utah wildfires: No containment in sight - July 8, 1996
- Firemen gain ground on scattered wildfires - July 7, 1996
- Western wildfires: Some almost out but new ones ignite- July 5, 1996
- Firefighters declare victory over S. California wildfires- July 4, 1996
- Day 5 for California wildfire- July 3, 1996
- Rain, snow douse much of Nevada wildfire- June 25, 1996
Related sites:
- National Daily Fire Situation Report
- National Park Service
- Airtankers International
- FireNet Information Network
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