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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Interstate 15 in west-central Utah was shut down late Monday by a wildfire that also prompted an evacuation in the Cove Fort area.
The Dog Valley fire burned over 8,000 acres -- 12 1/2 square miles -- north of Cove Fort in Millard County.
The blaze, which started Sunday, came within one-half mile of Cove Fort on Monday and the area was evacuated from 2:30 p.m. until late Monday, said Lisa Reid, Bureau of Land Management public affairs specialist. The blaze was burning northwest, away from Cove Fort, she said.
I-15 was closed in the area at 3 p.m. and remained closed late Monday.
The blaze was being fought by about 59 firefighters, aided by seven engines and a helicopter.
The interstate also was closed for nearly 11 hours Sunday and early Monday by the 2,900-acre (4.5 square miles) Ranch fire further south near Pintura. Some lanes still were restricted Monday as the fire burned on both sides of the highway.
The Oak City fire has burned about 3,830 acres, or nearly 6 square miles, in western Utah's Millard County. Two unoccupied summer mobile home had burned along with another that was in the process of being moved.
No homes were threatened Monday, and engines were in place for structure protection, the BLM said.
The cause of the fire, which started Sunday, was under investigation. The fire was burning in pinon, juniper, sage, gamble oak and mahogany brush.
About 123 firefighters were on scene.
Elsewhere, firefighters contained a 300-acre lightning-caused South Kanosh fire, southwest of Kanosh in the Fishlake National Forest, and the 4-square-mile, or 2,500-acre lightning-caused Sage Valley fire 15 miles west of Levan. The Sage Valley Road has been reopened.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
