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OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- A campfire may have been the source of a wildfire that burned about 50 acres on the north slope of Birch Creek Canyon four miles east of Ogden.
Forest Service spokeswoman Kathy Jo Pollock said a man reported lighting a campfire in the canyon overnight Sunday.
About 30 firefighters from the Forest Service, Weber Fire District, Logan, Salt Lake City and Mountain View, Wyo., responded to the blaze Monday morning. They were supported by a helicopter, which dropped water on the flames.
"We had a prescribed burn scheduled up on ... Monte Cristo, so we diverted the personnel there to fight this fire," said Colt Mortenson, north zone management officer for the Wasatch-Cache National Forest Service.
Firefighters hiked down from Snowbasin ski resort to fight the fire, which Pollock said burned in thick oak brush and did not threaten any structures.
Several hikers at the Beus Canyon trailhead were questioned, and one man said he had a campfire on the mountain overnight, Pollock said.
A prescribed burn to reduce wildfire fuels is planned next year in the area just below the fire.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
