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Photo by Linda PayneOAK CITY, Utah (AP) -- A wildfire that killed a central Utah firefighter has burned at least 7,000 acres, or 11 square miles, authorities said Tuesday.
"We had two good days without a lot of wind and then weather came up with erratic and gusty wind," said Chuck Dickson, spokesman for crews fighting the Devil's Den fire in Fishlake National Forest in Millard County. "It just took off."
The fire was 250 acres last Thursday when Spencer Koyle of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management got caught in the blaze and died.
The priority is to protect Oak City, 130 miles south of Salt Lake City, especially 50 homes that are classified as threatened, Dickson said. There have been no evacuations. The fire is burning about two miles from town.
The size of the fire was determined by a plane with infrared technology, and it will be larger "when we fly over it again," Dickson said.
Nearly 400 people were assigned to the fire, with many using chain saws, shovels and heavy machinery to create "space between what's burned and what's not burned," he said.
The cost so far: $1.1 million.
Koyle will be buried Wednesday at Holden Cemetery in Holden.
During last weekend's Oak City Days, an annual community event, about $4,000 was raised for Holden's wife and three children, Fire Chief Russell Dewsnup said.
"We put collection buckets out," he said. "They truly believe he's a hero. He put his life on the line to save the town."
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On the Net: www.utahfireinfo.gov
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
