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SARATOGA SPRINGS — As anxious residents await word of when they can return to their homes, air and ground crews continued battling the Dump Fire Saturday.
Hot shot crews worked through the night trying to contain the wildfire, which grew from 4,100 acres Friday night to 5,676 acres Saturday morning.
"We made good progress last night," said fire public information officer Kim Osborn, with the U.S. Forest Service. "Crews were up all night."
Strong winds again made the fire unpredictable. The fire pushed to the west overnight — something officials weren't expecting. Two additional homes along Lake Mountain Road in Eagle Mountain were evacuated overnight as a precaution, Osborn said.
Fire officials indicated the fire was about 30 percent contained. But they reconfigured the official number of homes evacuated and believe less than 600 homes were evacuated, including about 400 in Saratoga Springs and 200 in Eagle Mountain. Some reports on Friday put the number at 1,500.
But from the fire command center and from Westlake High School, 99 N. 200 West, where the Red Cross set up an emergency shelter for those who were displaced, residents noticed a drastic improvement from Friday. There was blue sky over the evacuated area Saturday morning, as opposed to Friday when ash and smoke blocked out the sun.
Most evacuated residents spent the night with friends and family. Only 13 people slept overnight at the high school, according to the Red Cross. But Saturday morning, many residents returned to the shelter, hoping to hear information about when they could return to their homes.
Osborn said officials would be re-evaluating fire and weather conditions Saturday morning when trying to determine when residents could be allowed to return to their homes.
"Evaluations will be made today to determine if evacuations can be lifted as soon as this evening," fire officials said on their incident webpage.
In addition to homes, Osborn said fire crews were attempting to keep the fire from spreading to the Israel Canyon area, a region that has not had a wildfire in 100 years, she said.
- Eagle Mountain: 801-789-6600
- Saratoga Springs: 801-766-6503
"There's a lot of natural resources there," Osborn said.
Both air and ground crews were working the fire Saturday. No homes had been burned in the fire, but a safety concern for firefighters was downed power lines from several power poles that had burned.
Fire officials said about 3 p.m. is traditionally when fire conditions can be the worst. They hope that what's known in the fire community as a "Swiss cheese model" won't occur at that time. That's a worst case scenario where the temperature, wind, humidity and dry fuels all line up to figuratively form a giant hole for those fighting the fire to fall into.
A Red Flag warning has been issued for the area through Sunday, according to fire officials, meaning high winds and high temperatures are predicted. Meteorologists have predicted temperatures may reach 100 degrees Saturday and Sunday along the Wasatch Front.
Winds were forecasted to be sustained at between 15 to 20 mph in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, according to fire officials, with gusts up to 30 mph.
Most of the helicopters being used to fight the fire are grounded when the wind hits 30 mph, according to fire officials, while the Type 1 Sky Crane helicopter is grounded when the wind speed reaches 40 mph. There is one Sky Crane helicopter fighting the Dump Fire
The Dump Fire was started about 11:30 a.m. Thursday by a target shooter. The fire was less than 800 acres Friday morning, but exhibited "explosive behavior" because of strong winds Friday and it more than quadrupled in size.
About 300 personnel were fighting the fire Saturday — including 10 hand crews, consisting of about 20 firefighters per crew, working the containment lines. Three helicopters, 17 engines and four water-feeders, which supply water to the engines and wet the roads down, were assisting in the efforts.
The Dump Fire received its name because it started near the Saratoga Springs city landfill.
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