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SALT LAKE CITY — Some residents evacuated by the Bald Mountain Fire will be allowed back in their homes Wednesday evening, authorities said.
Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon said residents on U.S. Highway 89 from the Eagles Landing development, near milepost 302, are now allowed back into their homes, as the area goes from mandatory evacuation to pre-evacuation status.
Cannon said at least 18 homes are in that section of land. The pre-evacuation status means those residents should be prepared to leave at any point if the fire becomes a threat to the area again.
Crews continued to battle both the Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires Wednesday. The fires have now burned more than 100,000 acres combined in southeastern Utah County — an area now larger than Utah Lake. The lake is 96,000 acres, according to the Utah Lake Commission.
By Wednesday evening, the Pole Creek Fire has burned a total of 88,420 acres, up about 14,000 acres since Tuesday. It is 28 percent contained, according to Inciweb, the federal fire information website. Bald Mountain Fire officials said the blaze has burned 16,554 acres as of Wednesday evening and is 12 percent contained.
Lots of activity yesterday on the #BaldMountainFire... Burnout operations on the south side were highly visible in the late afternoon. There has been a lot of aeriel support the last few days, helping firefighters make significant progress pic.twitter.com/A4kzQJ8hNp
— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) September 19, 2018
Crews face the ninth Red Flag Weather Warning day they've had in 10 days, officials said in an emailed statement. A red flag warning is a forecast issued by the National Weather Service to inform crews that conditions may contribute to wildland fire combustion and rapid spread, according to the weather service.
Firefighters continue to work on structure protection and will watch out for winds that could blow embers a half mile ahead of the fire. The most active area of the fire Tuesday was the northern portion above U.S. Highway 6 where flames pushed north, parallel with Wanrhodes Creek Road, officials said.
All evacuations and pre-evacuations remain in place.
More than 2,000 homes and about 6,000 people remain evacuated, including residents from Birdseye, Woodland Hills, Elk Ridge and the Covered Bridge, Diamond Fork and Sheep Creek areas, as well as the right fork of Hobble Creek Canyon. Residents along U.S. Highway 89 from Thistle to the Sanpete County line are also under evacuation.
Parts of Salem and the left fork of Hobble Creek Canyon are currently on pre-evacuation status, according to Utah County sheriff's emergency manager Peter Quittner. Officials have asked residents to have their belongings packed and ready to go in case evacuation becomes mandatory.
https://t.co/2IrJE0sKEP
— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) September 19, 2018
This is an updated interactive map for the #PoleCreekFire#BaldMountainFire See evacuation areas and new fire perimeter. Zoom in for detail
There is now a website available with information about the Utah County fires and relief efforts at utahcountyrelief.org.
Watch here for live updates on all the fires throughout Utah.
Tuesday's coverage:
Fire updates: Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires burn over 90K acres combined
The Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires have now burned over 90,000 acres in Utah County, fire officials say. But crews are gaining ground and increasing containment.Editor's note: Cannon initially said residents in the area from Thistle Junction to milepost 302 on U.S. Highway 89 would be allowed back home on Wednesday evening, but later said only residents from milepost 302 south to the Utah-Sanpete county line would be allowed back. This story has been updated to reflect that change.
Pole Creek Fire continues pushing north of U.S. Highway 6 as crews gain containment
Some residents along U.S. Highway 89 near Pole Creek Fire allowed to return home Wednesday
Eastbound SR-201 to reopen Wednesday night
Drone reported at south end of Pole Creek Fire suspends air operations
Cobblerest Fire 65 percent contained
Officials expect smoke from Bald Mountain, Pole Creek fires to drift into Vernal, Price, Moab in the next 48 hours
Increased smoke expected as crews work on southern part of Bald Mountain Fire
