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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A wildfire has burned more than 3,500 acres about 10 miles southwest of Santa Clara and was one of at least three large wildfires in Utah on Wednesday.
The Cave fire had burned 3,590 acres as of Wednesday afternoon, said Anne Stanworth, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Gusty winds had caused the fire to spread easily through dry cheat grass, she said. The cause of the fire, which started Tuesday, had not been determined, she said.
Twenty-two engines, a helicopter, a heavy air tanker and two hand crews were assigned to the fire, she said. A new team of fire managers was en route.
Winds also caused the Tunnel fire to grow to about 3,200 acres. The fire, started by lightning Tuesday, was burning near Elberta, about 30 miles southwest of Provo, said incident commander Dan Ames, a spokesman for the Utah Office of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
The fire was 85 percent contained by Wednesday afternoon and could be contained by Wednesday night.
"We should have it close to 100 percent (contained) by tonight," he said. "We probably won't have it controlled for a few days with the weather predicted."
The National Weather Service had issued a "red flag" warning Wednesday for much of central and southern Utah.
The Weather Service was predicting continued thunderstorm activity through Thursday for much of the state.
There were 292 firefighters working on a 2,500-acre fire on the Utah side of Navajo Mountain on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The blaze was believed to have been started by lightning Saturday, said Jim Whittington, a BLM fire information officer in Kingman, Ariz.
Whittington said firefighters were able to conduct burnout operations, diminishing fuel from the fire by lighting smaller fires, around communication towers on the mountain.
A power line that supports the communication site was also shut down for firefighters' safety. A road following the power line was being used as a containment line.
By late Wednesday, the fire was 5 percent contained, Whittington said.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
