'Baboon Fire' burns 17,000 acres in Beaver County

SALT LAKE CITY — Crews responded to a wildfire in Beaver County that quickly spread to 17,000 acres Thursday, officials said. The fire is also threatening a pig farm in the area.

The Baboon Fire, as it is being called, was apparently triggered by lightning Wednesday, and it smoldered in a tree overnight. Once it got going south of Minersville around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, dry conditions and fierce winds pushed it up mountainsides and across rangeland.

"The fire is chewing up real estate just like nobody's businesses, going through this dry brush," Beaver County Emergency Director Les Whitney said. "The cedar trees are just popping ahead of the fire from the heat that's produced, and they're igniting prior to the fire line even hitting them."

The blaze was quickly dubbed the Baboon Fire because it threatened communication facilities on top of Baboon Peak. Late in the day, the big threat was to the Circle Four Hog Farm, which has hundreds of thousands of pigs in dozens of widely scattered barns.

"It's probably the largest hog farm in the nation, and there are quite a few employees who work there as well," said fire information officer Nick Howell.

The pigs were not evacuated. But an air tanker worked the fire lines repeatedly along with choppers and water buckets.

As evening set in, winds and temperatures eased off and the major threats seemed to diminish. But firefighters are not getting all the help they wish they had.

"We're really short on resources. We're really short-handed," Howell said. "All of our resources are expended throughout southern Utah."

State Route 130 was also temporarily closed in the afternoon and again Thursday evening.

Firefighters say they have a love-hate relationship with storms, as they can both start fires and help to put them out. Crews say they just hope they get the right combination.

Other Utah wildfires:

Multiple wildfires have burned throughout Utah over the past month, shrouding the valley in a cloud of smoke and draining resources.

• Dizzy Rock FireAnother fire forced the Sanpete County Sheriff's Office and Moroni Police Department to evacuate Maple Canyon Thursday. The Dizzy Rock Fire started Thursday afternoon. It's sending big plumes of smoke into the sky and burning fast. The area is popular with rock climbers. But right now, the flames don'tappear to be threatening any structures.

• Church Camp FireIn Duchesne, the Church Camp Fire has been fully contained as of July 6. The fire had burned more than 7,200 acres and destroyed multiple structures since it started June 24.

  The cause of the fire is under investigation.
• Clay Springs FireIn Millard County, the Clay Springs Fire was expected to reach 100-percent containment on Friday. The fire has burned more than 108,000 acres since it started June 27. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
• Dump FireIn Eagle Mountain, the Dump Fire burned more than 5,500 acres between June 21 and June 25.

The fire was started by target shooters and forced the evacuation of nearly 600 homes. No structures were damaged.

1. Grease FireIn Millard County, near Delta, the Grease Fire that started June 22 reached 16,500 acres before firefighters were able to contain it. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

2. Flood Canyon FireIn Tooele, the Flood Canyon Fire had reached 150 acres as of Thursday morning. No structures are threatened.

   The fire cannot be reached via truck, so crews were forced to wait for helicopters to arrive to assist with the flames.
3. Pole Creek FireNear Whiterocks, at the mouth of Uintah Canyon, the Pole Creek Fire has burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire was 97 percent contained as of Thursday. The fire started June 27 and has cost about $300,000 to control so far. One firefighter suffered from a heat-related illness and was treated and released back to duty. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

4. Quail FireIn Alpine, the Quail Fire reached 100-percent containment July 11 after burning more than 2,200 acres. The fire started July 3.

   All closures outside of the immediate area of the fire have been lifted. Elder Peak, trail 46 and portions of trail 44 in the fire area are expected to remain closed for the next two weeks.
5. Rosecrest FireIn Herriman, the Rosecrest Fire was fully contained as of July 2. The human-caused fire was started June 29 and burned 611 acres total. Four homes were lost in the blaze.

The natural Resources Conservation Service estimates remediation efforts will cost about $150,000, of which the service will fund 75 percent.

Herriman City and Salt Lake County will fund the other $37,500.

1. Seeley FireIn Carbon County, near Huntington, the lightning-caused Seeley Fire started June 26 and has burned nearly 47,600 acres. It was 87 percent contained as of Thursday morning and is expected to reach 100-percent containment on Sunday.
2. Shingle FireIn Kane County, the human-caused Shingle Fire in Shingle Mill Canyon was 100-percent contained as of Tuesday. The fire burned 8,200 acres between July 1 and July 10.
3. Wolf Den FireIn Vernal, the lightning-caused Wolf Den Fire was 60 percent contained as of Thursday. The fire has burned nearly 19,900 acres since it started June 29. It is expected to be contained by Aug.1. One historic cabin has been lost to the fire. No other structures have been destroyed.

4. Wood Hollow FireIn Sanpete County, the Wood Hollow Fire burned nearly 47,400 acres between June 24 and July 1.

   The fire destroyed 108 structures, including 52 homes. One person died in the fire.Contributing: Benjamin Wood

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