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SEVIER COUNTY -- Smoke from the fast-moving Twitchell fire filled the skies of central Utah Tuesday, forcing the closure of a portion of Interstate 70.
The fire has burned 17,000 since it started July 20; 6,000 of those acres burned Tuesday.
That has prompted a voluntary evacuation of the area surrounding Fremont Indian State Park, southeast of Richfield.
The Utah Highway Patrol has also closed I-70 between milepost 0 and milepost 23, roughly between the Interstate 15 junction and the town of Sevier.
Eastbound traffic is being rerouted north on I-15 to Highway 50, then east to I-70 in Salina. Westbound traffic on I-70 is being forced off the freeway onto Highway 89 and sent south to State Route 20, which connects with I-15 south of Beaver.
Officials say the closures will stay in effect until the threat is gone.
Drivers traveling in the area who encounter heavy smoke are advised to slow down, use their headlights and leave plenty of distance between their vehicle and the vehicle in front of them.
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